Landslide west of Lillooet: officials confirm two fatalities while search continues

Two fatalities from a landslide on Highway 99 west of Lillooet in British Columbia, Canada, have been confirmed by the officials. The search continues for other missing people.

David MacKenzie of Pemberton Search and Rescue confirms that two bodies have been found at the slide site. The slide buried a section of the highway between Lillooet and the Cayoosh Summit, as many highways were hit with mudslides around southern B.C. during heavy rainfall.

The police announced that a woman from the Lower Mainland was killed in a landslide on Highway 99, and that they were continuing to search for at least two other missing people.

Personnel from both Pemberton and Lillooet Search and Rescue were flown into the slide site and were able to extricate the woman’s body. She has not been identified but police say next of kin have been notified. Further details on the second person found also have not been confirmed.

“The total number of people and vehicles unaccounted for has not been confirmed, however investigators have received two missing person reports and believe there may have been other occupied vehicles that were lost in the slide,” Staff Sgt. Janelle Shoihet says.

“We are asking anyone who was a witness to the event, or believes their loved one is missing and has not yet been able to make contact with them, to contact the Pemberton or Lillooet RCMP detachments.

Highway 99 also remains closed between Lillooet and Pemberton, with no estimated time of reopening. The same goes for the three other highways that connect the southern Interior to the Lower Mainland through Hope.