Chilling new footage has emerged, revealing the lodges where a group of skiers had been staying before meeting a tragic fate in a massive avalanche. The apocalyptic scene was captured by a news helicopter and shows layers of snow completely consuming the Frog Lake huts on Castle Peak, near Truckee, as of Friday afternoon.

The catastrophic avalanche claimed the lives of eight individuals on Tuesday as they attempted to flee the overpowering winter storm. Sadly, another person remains missing and is feared dead. The grim reality of the situation is evident in footage obtained by KCRA, which shows the huts buried in snow, with drifts reaching as high as the first-floor windows.

The video also captures what appear to be rescuers’ snowmobiles and snowcats stationed outside the snow-laden buildings, illustrating the ongoing recovery efforts. Tracks made by rescuers are visible, indicating their relentless work since arriving on Wednesday night. Some of the rescue team members have even taken shelter in the lodges during the challenging operation.

Footage obtained by KCRA showed the huts coated in snow covering their roofs and as high as first floor windows.

The clip also shows what is understood to be rescuers’ snowmobiles and snowcats parked outside the buildings as they worked to recover the bodies.

They appeared to have made tracks through the drift since arriving on Wednesday night, with some rescuers staying in the lodges during the operation.

The lodges were a short distance away from where the avalanche struck as the skiers tried to make their way back to their vehicles during the storm.

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Rescuers have been weighing the idea of setting off explosives to trigger additional avalanches on the mountain amid the search mission.

In order to make conditions safer for rescuers, officials will now take to the air to decide whether or not they can manually trigger avalanches with explosives.

The sheriff’s office said: “The objective of the aerial surveys is to visually assess the conditions of the avalanche scene and snowpack as well as to make determinations if controlled avalanche mitigation may be possible at some point.

“Controlled avalanche mitigation consists of pre-planned explosive deployment to intentionally release unstable snowpack.

“These proactive measures are designed to reduce the risk of naturally occurring avalanches and enhance first responder safety within the affected area, so they may recover victims with lower risk.”

The recovery process has been delayed by inclement weather and the fear of additional surprise avalanches in the area.

Six women have so far been identified in the tragedy, named as Carrie Atkin, Kate Morse, Danielle Keatley, Caroline Sekar, Kate Vitt and Liz Claubaugh.

Six others, including five women and a man aged 30 to 55, were rescued from the mountain on Wednesday.