Two men caught in an avalanche have been found dead, police said Monday, the day after the accident in central Nagano, Japan.
By the editor
LJapanese authorities have not identified the two men at this stage, but the American ski magazine Mountain Gazette wrote that freestyle snowboarding champion Kyle Smaine, 31, was killed in an avalanche in Nagano on Sunday.
Two men who were traveling with him posted messages on Instagram saying he was killed in the avalanche.
The newspaper said he was with another professional skier, Adam U, and the publication’s senior photographer, Grant Gunderson.
Sunday “my worst nightmare” happened, he wrote in an Instagram post on Monday. He said an avalanche was triggered by another skier and Kyle Smaine was “thrown 50 meters away by the air blast, buried and killed”.
Off road
A police official, Tomohiro Kushibiki, explained that two men had been found in “cardio-respiratory arrest”, a formula commonly used in Japan before the death was confirmed by a coroner.
The pair were off-piste skiing near Otari resort on Sunday with 11 other skiers and snowboarders when the avalanche formed.
Three other people were caught in the avalanche but managed to get out, but two foreign nationals were still missing on Sunday evening.
Mr Kushibiki said he could not confirm the identity of the two men found on Monday, nor their nationality.
