Four skiers died in an avalanche in Mill Creek Canyon on Saturday.
Salt Lake County Mayor Jenny Wilson said on Twitter that there were four fatalities in the Mill Creek Canyon area on Saturday afternoon. She said rescue workers are on the scene.
The avalanche took place near Wilson Peak, on the ridge line that separates Big Cottonwood Canyon and Mill Creek Canyon, according to Drew Hardesty with the Utah Avalanche Center. He said it happened on a steep terrain facing north.
Four is the highest death toll in an avalanche in the Wasatch Mountains since 1914, according to the Utah Avalanche Center. It would also correspond to the state record. Four people died in an avalanche launched by skiers at Gold Basin, near Moab, in 1992.
Three died in an avalanche that swept 15 people in Provo Canyon, near the Sundance Resort in 2003.
Governor Spencer Cox tweeted that the deaths are a terrible tragedy. He said people should be extremely cautious due to the current avalanche conditions.
Hardesty said the victims were experienced skiers, well known in the community. He also called their deaths a terrible tragedy.
This story will be updated