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Snowmobiler dies in Barriere backcountry

The Kamloops man was traveling with three others and two snowmobiles in the Harp Mountain area
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A snowmobiler speeds along a frozen river in this file photo. A Kamloops man was killed Sunday when he was trapped under his snow machine. Black Press file photo

By Jill Hayward – North Thompson Star/Journal

A freak snowmobile accident took the life of a Kamloops man on Sunday, Jan. 28, in the backcountry northeast of Barriere.

The man was traveling with three others and two snowmobiles in the Harp Mountain area when the accident took place.

READ MORE: Avalanche deaths prompt outcry (Mar. 29, 2016)

Reports say the man was pinned under a snowmobile in a creek and the people that were with him were unable to free him.

One person stayed with the man and the two others took off on their sled to try to get into an area where their cell phones worked.

Alan Hobler of Kamloops Search and Rescue reported the call came in to them at approximately 1 p.m. to support Barriere Search and Rescue.

Wells Grey Search and Rescue, RCMP and B.C. Air Ambulance also attended.

Because of poor visibility the Air Ambulance was unable to reach the trapped man.

Search and Rescue had to deploy its own snowmobile team to access the area, which was in difficult terrain.

Finding the site proved even more difficult, according to some who attended, due to the weather, the terrain, and no cell service into the area for GPS coordinates.

When search crews arrived at the site around 7 p.m. the sledder was pronounced deceased at the scene.

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