STEWART (NEWS1130) – A man has been killed in an avalanche 50 kilometres north of Stewart in northern BC.  The slide struck an isolated mine where the victim was working.

RCMP Corporal Brian Donaldson says it happened on Tuesday afternoon.  “[The area] is only accessible by helicopter so we’re going to be flying there with our investigators to interview witnesses and we’ll have more details then.”

Coroner Barb McLintock says initially two people from an industrial camp were working in the mine when the avalanche hit.  One person was able to escape.

McLintock adds it’s very early in the season for an avalanche to have taken someone’s life, noting the first fatality last year was not reported until the middle of November.

At that time, 40-year-old Dallas Shane Mayert, who was snowmobiling with friends 100 kilometres northeast of Prince George, died in a slide.