The four skiers who died in a massive avalanche in Utah on Saturday have been identified by authorities.
The victims, including three Salt Lake City residents, belonged to two separate groups of skiers caught in the Millcreek Canyon avalanche. Four others survived the shocking ordeal.
According to the Unified Police Department, the victims are: Sarah Moughamian, 29, Louis Holian, 26, Stephanie Hopkins, 26, and Thomas Louis Steinbrecher, 23.
“All eight skiers were well prepared and had the necessary equipment for the conditions,” the department said in a statement.
Holian, Hopkins and Steinbrecher were all from Salt Lake City, police said. Moughamian lived in Sandy.
According to The Salt Lake Tribune, Hopkins worked as a nurse at the University of Utah Health.
Hopkins worked in the neuro critical care department and was loved and respected by her colleagues. We offer our condolences to her family and loved ones at this difficult time, ”the hospital said in a statement to the newspaper.
The bodies of the four victims were recovered from the mountain by authorities on Sunday.
The four survivors, all men aged 23 to 38, excavated themselves and the victims before they were rescued, authorities said.