Rescue teams in western Canada have found the bodies of seven men hit by avalanches while driving their snowmobiles in the Rocky Mountains.
One other man is still unaccounted for, in freezing temperatures and continuing snowfall. Some 68cm of snow has fallen in the region in recent days.
The group went missing after two avalanches on a mountain south of Fernie in British Columbia, 300 kilometres southwest of Calgary.
The BBC reports that three others managed to pull themselves free.
Explosives were dropped from a helicopter onto slopes around the avalanche area on Monday to shake loose snow free and make it safe for searchers.
