5 Snowboarders Killed In Colorado Avalanche They Triggered

A group of snowboarders were out on the slopes near Loveland Pass in Colorado. 5 of the 6 snowboarders out that day were killed when they accidentally triggered an avalanche.

The 5 snowboarders were killed Saturday afternoon. ABC News says the avalanche "measured more than 200 yards wide and nearly 400 yards long." The 5 snowboarders that were killed were buried under 8-feet of snow. The unnamed survivor was only partially buried and able to dig himself out and go get help. The survivor was taken to the hospital and treated for minor injuries before being released.

ABC News spoke with the Clear Creek County Sheriff yesterday after news of the 5 snowboarders was released. Sheriff Don Krueger told ABC News, "Early this afternoon, a group of six snowboarders ventured into an out-of-bounds zone above the Loveland Pass ski area, about 60 miles west of Denver [and] the snowboarders triggered an avalanche."

The Sheriff did not say how the snowboarders triggered the avalanche that left 5 of them dead. The names of the 5 snowboarders that were killed have not been released since family members are still being notified.

ABC News also reports, "The avalanche today was the second deadliest in the nation since 1950. The worst was in 1962 at Twin Lakes, when seven people were killed, according to statistics compiled by the Colorado Avalanche Information Center, or CAIC."

The 5 snowboarders killed in the Colorado avalanche are the second reported deaths this week. On Thursday a 38-year-old man was snowboarding in Colorado's Vail Pass when an avalanche killed him.