Searchers recover 2nd body after rockfall near Canada's Banff National Park hiking trail

CALGARY, Alberta — Search teams located a second body Friday following a massive rockfall off a hiking trail in Canada's Banff National Park.
The University of Alberta confirmed one of the two people killed in the rockfall in Banff National Park was retired educator Jutta Hinrichs, who was a leader in the Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine.
Parks Canada officials say she was 70 and lived in Calgary.
The slide happened Thursday afternoon north of Lake Louise on the Icefields Parkway, about 200 kilometers (124 miles) northwest of Calgary. It is also about 137 kilometers (85 miles) from the site of the Group of Seven summit held in Kananaskis, Alberta, this week.
Three others were taken to the hospital and were reported in stable condition.
Officials said no one else has been reported missing and there are no unidentified vehicles at the trailhead.
The route rus along the edges of Bow Lake and is considered a moderate challenge for hikers and is used by tourists and day-trippers, including families. It's a region with limited cellular service.
Niclas Brundell, a trail guide who lives in nearby Canmore, said he was hiking in the area with his wife Thursday when they both started seeing concerning signs of rocks tumbling and boulders the size of tires starting to fall.
'This was unimaginable to me, that such a big piece of mountain would fall off,' he said. As rocks started rolling at the top of the waterfall, he said, they didn't hit anyone, but he and his wife wondered why nobody seemed to be reacting.
'Then all of a sudden, I hear the start of another rockfall, and I turn around, and the whole mountainside is coming off.'
He said the slab seemed about 50 meters (164 feet) wide and 20 meters (60 feet) deep, and he and his wife started sprinting.
When he turned around, he could see a group of between 15 and 30 people at the waterfall disappear under a cloud of dust.
'The only place I've ever seen something similar is like watching videos from 9-11, when you see New York being cast over,' he said.
He said there was a roar, 'and I just didn't see them anymore.'
Brundell said when they got far enough to feel safe, he sent a satellite message to Parks Canada, while his wife ran to a nearby lodge to call for help.
He said it's a popular trail because it's considered relatively easy, and on any given summer day there are 15 people or more hiking the trail.

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Learn with AIFact CheckingText to SpeechAI Summary

Related Articles

Yahoo

31 minutes ago

• Yahoo

Missing Brandon teen found dead, police say

A Brandon, Man., teenager who had been missing since Sunday has been found dead, police say. The body of Owen Bedford, 18, was found in the Assiniboine River, the Brandon Police Service said on a Facebook post Friday afternoon. He had last been seen at around 2 a.m. Sunday leaving a bar on Victoria Avenue with some friends, his family previously told CBC News. More than 100 volunteers joined a search, the family said, and the Hutterian Emergency Aquatic Response Team began searching the Assiniboine River for the teen on Tuesday. Brandon police said Bedford's identity has been formally confirmed. "At this time, our thoughts are with Owen's family and friends as they navigate this incredibly difficult and painful time," they said in the update. "We extend our deepest sympathies and stand with them in their grief."

Yahoo

an hour ago

• Yahoo

Cops identify victim in deadly east-end stabbing

The victim of Toronto's 16th homicide has been identified as Ashkan Pournasir-Roudbane, 36, of Toronto. Cops investigated a stabbing call in the area of Danforth and Hillingdon Aves. — east of Coxwell Ave. — on Tuesday around 11 p.m. Police said an altercation occurred between two males behind a plaza and they located the victim. The victim was transported to hospital where he was pronounced dead. The suspect is described as male, wearing a dark-coloured hooded sweater and a black face covering. An image of the victim and the suspect has been released. Police are asking anyone who was in the area at the time and who has video surveillance or dash camera footage to contact investigators. Anyone with information is asked to call police at 416-808-7400, or contact Crime Stoppers anonymously at 416-222-TIPS (8477), or at Those slain so far this year include four victims who were stabbed to death, 10 victims who were shot to death, and two victims who were killed in other ways. -with files from Chris Doucette Third person hunted in 2023 murder of Brampton food delivery driver Man, 34, shot by cop in Unionville now dead Man, 18, and boy, 16, charged in Bluffer's Park double stabbing

Yahoo

an hour ago

• Yahoo

Man dead after shooting in Brampton

A man is dead after a shooting in Brampton on Friday, Peel Regional Police say. The shooting happened in the area of Rutherford Road S. and Glidden Road, near Highway 410, police said in a post on X on Friday. Officers were called to the scene at about 5:45 p.m. Paramedics took the man in life-threatening condition to hospital, where he died. The suspects left in a vehicle, according to police. There is a large police presence in the area. Homicide detectives have taken over the investigation.