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Person airlifted to hospital after avalanche in Yoho National Park has died

The man was among a party of three involved in an avalanche Saturday afternoon
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Yoho National Park (freddofrancisco/Instagram)

Parks Canada says a person who was airlifted to hospital in Calgary following an avalanche in Yoho National Park has died.

The agency says a male who was among a party of three was involved in an avalanche Saturday afternoon on Des Poilus Glacier, which is on the Wapta Icefield, approximately 180 kilometres northwest of Calgary.

READ MORE: Three well-known climbers presumed dead in Banff avalanche

STARS Air Ambulance said the person was in critical condition at the time, and Parks Canada says in an update that he did not survive.

The other two people in the party were not injured.

Parks Canada says the slide was not connected to an avalanche that happened Tuesday on Howse Peak in Banff National Park that is believed to have claimed the lives of three professional climbers.

Efforts to find those men — American Jess Roskelley and Austrians David Lama and Hansjorg Auer — have been hampered by poor weather and dangerous conditions.

Parks Canada says the avalanche danger rating for Saturday was variable, noting that spring avalanche conditions can range from high to low and are dependent on weather and location, among other factors.

The Canadian Press

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