Four dead and one missing after a massive mudslide struck Highway 99 in British Columbia, halting search operations due to severe alpine hazards.
LILLOOET, B.C. — Specialized alpine search-and-rescue teams operating in hazardous mountain terrain south of Lillooet have recovered the bodies of three men following a catastrophic mudslide along Highway 99, bringing the disaster’s confirmed death toll to four while one motorist remains unaccounted for.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), working alongside volunteer search crews and provincial emergency task forces, formally suspended active ground and aerial operations along the corridor, known locally as Duffey Lake Road. Officials cited deteriorating winter weather and the imminent threat of secondary slope failures for halting tactical operations following an exhaustive multi-day effort.
The slide struck roughly 42 kilometers south of Lillooet on Nov. 15, when torrential downpours caused saturated alpine hillsides to shear away in a violent cascade. An estimated tens of thousands of tons of timber, loose boulders, and liquefied clay swept across the roadway, catching active traffic and carrying several commercial and passenger vehicles into a steep ravine below.