Tahoe avalanche survivors dug out victims buried in the snow with safety gear as new information revealed

Twelve people were caught in the avalanche, according to the Sierra Avalanche Center


Rescuers during the search for victims of the fatal Tahoe avalanche on Feb. 17 Nevada County Sheriff’s Office/Facebook© Nevada County Sheriff’s Office/Facebook

NEED TO KNOW

Three skiers who survived the fatal Tahoe avalanche on Feb. 17 helped rescue three of the other survivors, according to the Sierra Avalanche Center
Nine other people died in the avalanche while the group of 15 returned from a three-day trip to the Frog Lake huts, authorities previously said
Of the 15 people on the trip, 12 of them were caught in the slide, the Sierra Avalanche Center said

New details are emerging about how survivors of the fatal Tahoe avalanche helped others escape the disaster.

Nine people died after they got caught in the avalanche while skiing in the Castle Peak Area of the Tahoe National Forest on Feb. 17. Six others survived.

The Sierra Avalanche Center said in an update on Monday, Feb. 23, that 12 of the 15 skiers were impacted by the avalanche, according to KOLO and NBC affiliate KCRA.

The three surviving skiers who were not buried helped rescue three of the trapped victims using shovels and other avalanche safety gear, KCRA and The Sacramento Bee reported.

“That does take a substantial amount of work, and it is substantially exhausting,” Wendy Antibus, Avalanche Center education coordinator, told the paper.

The survivors spent hours in the snow and cold as they waited for help to arrive, authorities previously said. Two of the survivors were hospitalized after the rescue with non-life-threatening injuries. The 15 skiers, including 11 clients and four guides, were returning from a three-day backcountry skiing trip to the Frog Lake huts when the avalanche occurred, according to authorities and a statement from Blackbird Mountain Guides.

The nine victims killed in the slide, six clients and three guides, have been recovered from the mountain.

The clients killed include Carrie Atkin, Liz Clabaugh, her sister Caroline Sekar, Danielle Keatley, Kate Morse and Kate Vitt, according to a statement from a representative from JVP Communications, previously obtained by PEOPLE.

The Nevada County Sheriff’s Office later confirmed the identities of the three guides as Michael Henry, 30, Andrew Alissandratos, 34, and Niki Choo, 42.

Families of the victims said in a statement that they “have many unanswered questions” in the wake of the fatal avalanche, noting that the clients who died “were all mothers, wives and friends, all of whom connected through the love of the outdoors.”

“The trip had been organized well in advance,” the families explained, adding that the individuals on the trip “were experienced backcountry skiers who deeply respected the mountains.”