Four people died in the avalanche that struck the southern area of Laguna del Inca on Saturday, near the Portillo Ski Center, in the comuna (municipality) of Los Andes, Región de Valparaíso (Valparaíso Region). The Regional Directorate of the Servicio Nacional de Prevención y Respuesta ante Desastres (Senapred, Chile's national disaster prevention and response agency) updated the figure during the afternoon.
According to T13, the agency's latest report indicates that four other people were injured and the Servicio de Atención Médica de Urgencia (SAMU, the emergency medical service) took them to various health facilities. ADN Radio, however, counts five survivors: two in serious condition, two with moderate injuries and one with minor injuries.
The group consisted of seven mountaineers climbing the trail toward the summit of Los Tres Hermanos. According to preliminary information from Carabineros (Chile's national police), the snow broke loose when the hikers reached the lake's peninsula and swept all of them into the water.
After the alert, officers from the Subcomisaría Los Libertadores (police substation) arrived at the site to confirm what had happened and coordinate the rescue. The operation involves Bomberos de Los Andes (the local fire department), Carabineros with air police support, SAMU, and personnel from the Sistema Integrado Cristo Redentor, Hotel Portillo and Senapred Regional. The municipal stadium was set up as a landing site for the hotel's helicopter.
Authorities have not ruled out that more people may be under the snow, so Bomberos are continuing the search. The exact causes of the avalanche and the conditions in which the group was advancing have not yet been established.
The delegado presidencial regional (regional presidential delegate) of Valparaíso, Manuel Millones, expressed concern on T13 en Vivo about the state of the snowpack in the mountains, due to temperature changes and the rain forecast for the coming days. "This snow is very dangerous because there is a greater chance of it breaking loose," he warned.
Millones also said Chile needs regulations that assign specific responsibilities for monitoring and controlling avalanches, a task that currently has no responsible party defined by law.
