Two men die in separate incidents at premier Tahoe-area ski resort

A call made late Friday morning alerted authorities to two fatalities at Heavenly Mountain Resort, close to Lake Tahoe, according to officials.

The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office reported that deputies were dispatched at 11:55 a.m. following reports of two tragic incidents at the resort located on the Nevada side.

The Tahoe Douglas Fire Protection District confirmed that 33-year-old Nicholas Jamil Haddad from West Bloomfield, Michigan, lost his life due to a severe incident on the mountain.

The second victim, identified by authorities as 57-year-old Brian Robert Fraud from Elk Grove, California, passed away after suffering a major medical emergency while skiing.

A snowy chairlift at a ski resort in Lake Tahoe.

Unrelated incidents claimed the lives of two individuals at a Lake Tahoe ski resort. (Photo credit: Kate Abraham/Squaw Valley Alpine Meadows via AP)

According to police, both skiers were brought down to the base area by the Heavenly Ski Patrol after deputies arrived at the scene.

Despite life-saving efforts from the TDFPD and paramedics, both men died.

A vehicle clearing snow in the Lake Tahoe region

A vehicle clears snow along Interstate-80 in the Lake Tahoe region. (Placer County Sheriff’s Office)

The incidents were unrelated, the sheriff’s office said, and the cause and manner of both deaths remain under investigation.

Heavenly Vice President and General Manager Shaydar Edelmann said Friday he appreciated the work of the ski patrol team and the first responders.

“On behalf of the entire Heavenly Mountain Resort team, we extend our heartfelt condolences to our guests’ family, friends and loved ones,” he said in a statement.

In a statement, South Lake Tahoe Mayor Cody Bass offered his condolences to the victims’ families. 

“Our community is mourning a profound and heavy loss today. The last two weeks have brought a succession of tragedies to the Lake Tahoe region. On behalf of the City Council and the people of South Lake Tahoe, we want to express our deepest and most heartfelt condolences to the families, friends, and loved ones of those we have lost.”

Colin Kang smiling in an undated photo

Colin Kang, San Jose State University student, died at a Lake Tahoe ski resort.  (GoFundMe)

The fatal incidents come after several deaths in the Lake Tahoe region. On Wednesday, Feb. 18, the body of missing recent San Jose State University graduate Colin Kang, 21, was found.

Kang had “gone skiing and did not return as expected,” the Placer County Sheriff’s Office shared in a news release on Facebook. His vehicle was found in a parking lot at Northstar California Resort before he was later discovered.

On Feb. 17, a group of nine backcountry skiers were killed in an avalanche near Castle Peak, which is not far from Lake Tahoe.

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