New Delhi, Feb. 19 -- An avalanche near California's Lake Tahoe in the Castle Peak area on Tuesday morning resulted in eight deaths, with one person still unaccounted for, officials said Wednesday. It is the deadliest such incident in the nation since 1981, when 11 climbers lost their lives on Mount Rainier in Washington state.

Rescue teams discovered the bodies of eight backcountry skiers, while they continued searching for a ninth, according to AP.

Six people were pulled to safety about six hours after the avalanche struck, just as they were wrapping up a three-day journey through Northern California's Sierra Nevada amid a powerful winter storm. Authorities said the expedition included four guides, three of whom were believed to have ...