.Three..men flown by helicopter to the Alaska backcountry for a skiing trip are presumed dead after they were caught in a massive avalanche, authorities said Wednesday.The avalanche happened Tuesday afternoon in the Chugach Mountains near Girdwood, a small resort town about 40 miles southwest of Anchorage, according to the Alaska Department of Public Safety. The department said state wildlife troopers were alerted of the avalanche shortly after 5 p.m. local time…. …. …. …. …………………….. …………………… A preliminary investigation revealed that three heli-skiers were swept away by the avalanche at around 3:30 p.m., according to the department. Guides from a commercial heli-skiing operation attempted to locate the skiers using avalanche beacons to identify their location.

The beacons estimated that the skiers were likely buried in snow between 40 feet to nearly 100 feet deep, the department said. The guides were unable to recover the skier’s bodies due to the depth