One missing and two injured in an avalanche in Sierra Nevada

[elperronegro]

A person remains missing after an avalanche occurred in the Barranco de San Juan, east of the Virgen de las Nieves in Granada's Sierra Nevada. Also in the same avalanche, another two other people were injured but managed to escape on their own.

Sources to the 112 Emergency Service in Andalucia said they received several calls from individuals around 13.30 hours on Sunday warning of the avalanche. The Guardia Civil Mountain Rescue and Intervention (Sereim) mobilized emergency helicopter and rescue dogs to help find the man. It is not clear if there might be more people under the snow.

[elperronegro]

Video of the avalanche area in the lower San Juan just before you can exit back to the Virgen de las Nieves. Frightening to see the extent that ranges from the old observatory to the upper San Juan exit.

[Tinkerbell]

A direct google translation from the Ideal newspapper as of Monday 21st Feb at 14.15pm. If you want to read the origional you can find it here

The risk of occurrence of new landslides in the Sierra Nevada area where three climbers went missing yesterday, two of whom managed to get to the surface, makes the work of British hiker search of 42 years is still missing in the area of Ravine San Juan.

The coordinator of the rescue operation, Antonio Camero, explained that the search area, involving 19 agents of the Mountain Rescue and Intervention (Sereim) of the Civil Guard and four specialist dogs, focuses on an area 300 square meters.
The snow reached in some parts of that environment thicknesses up to 10 meters, a depth that can not reach the probes with which we work.

Although the number of speakers yesterday was greater, the Guardia Civil has now limited to 19 participants agents to the risk exists that any further landslides and to keep the dogs working in the area central to these tasks, distracted.

A company of 133 soldiers belonging to the Second Battalion of Intervention (BIEM) of the Military Emergency Unit (UME), located in Morón de la Frontera, has also joined the rescue device.

On this team, coordinated by the Civil Guard, involving, besides the armed agents, members of the Army and company personnel Cetursa-Sierra Nevada, Andalusia Emergency Team (Grea) and various ski schools.

In addition to the 133 soldiers, the EMU has moved 21 vehicles and four dogs, which remain in the area until 25 February, as reported by the Ministry of Defence in a statement.
Intervention Battalion began today in Sierra Nevada just a training exercise to update and deepen the rescue in areas of heavy snow to avalanche risk.

The late John HT, is a neighbor of Zafarraya (Granada) 42, a British national, a widower with a young son and a car mechanic, who was on a trip (hiking in the snow) along with two companions when were surprised by the avalanche, although the latter two managed to get to the surface on their own.

[elperronegro]

A photo showing the line of the break. The height of the break is said to be 2m. Massive!

[Tinkerbell]

The search has been called off again for today and will resume tomorrow.

At 16.30pm today 2 piste bashers have helped to remove snow from the area in which it is believed the man is buried. The snow is thought to be upto 10m deep which is deeper than the probes can go.

[elperronegro]

Good photo from Encorda2 on the spanish forums at http://www.nevasport.com/phorum/read.php...004,page=2 that shows the line of entry the party took.

[elperronegro]

Latest from Ideal this morning http://www.ideal.es/granada/v/20110222/g...10222.html

"John, Salva and Julio came on Sunday to do one of the many trips they usually do in Sierra Nevada. They are experts and know very well the dangers hidden in the mountains. So when John saw in the distance the Corral del Veleta, which they sought to enter, he was emphatic in his decision: he had to turn back because the situation did not offer security guarantees.

When the three climbers faced the descent of a hillside in the San Juan Valley in the final stretch of the trip, tragedy struck. "John went first and told us we had to separate as a security measure, about 10 meters each. Suddenly I heard a sound like thunder, I looked at John for a moment and then I turned. Then I saw like a sea wave came at us and tried to remember the knowledge of what to do in these situations.

Although you're never prepared for something like that, I fell as if it were the sea and started to move my arms to stay on the surface and got to have room to breathe. When it finally stopped, I realized that I had communication with the outside and I could do something. The first thing I did was call 112 and immediately began to help us, " recalls Salva.

Yesterday, Salva was one of the people involved in the search of John, the British climber missing after an avalanche on Sunday in the Sierra Nevada . The day closed without any found clues to his whereabouts.

The search comprising, among others, by members of the Guardia Civil and agents of the Military Emergency Unit as well as psite machines from the ski centre, will resume on Tuesday, sources have informed the Army.

On Monday, a company of 133 soldiers belonging to the Second Battalion of Intervention (BIEM) of the Emergency Military Unit, based in Moron de la Frontera (Sevilla), joined the rescue effort.

As reported by the Defense Ministry in a note, BIEM II Sierra Nevada has initiated a training exercise to update and deepen the rescue in areas of heavy snow to avalanche risk. In addition to the 133 soldiers, the EMU has moved 21 vehicles and four dogs, which remain in the area until 25 February.

In addition, from 16.30 hours, two snow grooming caterpillars began to remove the snow at the site, as reported by the other two surviving climbers were surprised by the avalanche and where he found the axe of John, the mountaineer disappeared. The goal is to remove more snow thickness and the magnitude of the landslide could leave the climber buried deeper than three meters that are able to detect the probes.

[Tinkerbell]

Day 3 of the search for the missing man proved unsuccessful.

The search resumes today, day 4, the friends and Guardia Civil say they will not stop the search until the body is found.

[Tinkerbell]

Here is a link to some photos taken on the 2nd day and photos taken on the 3rd day of looking for the missing man. Very sad.

[Tinkerbell]

Today is the 5th day of searching for the missing mountaineer in the area they believed he would be found. If after today they do not find him they will widen their search area. Because of the depth of snow, the snow ploughs will be used again to remove snow to enable the probes to reach.