A RETIRED professor has been named as the first victim of the deadly rock slide in Canada which killed one other.
Jutta Hinrichs, aged 70 and a former lecturer at the University of Alberta, tragically lost her life on Thursday after a disaster in Banff National Park, which also left three others injured.
A second body was recovered on Friday, and officials have called off the rescue after believing everyone is accounted for.
The fatal land slide happened on Thursday afternoon north of Lake Louie – a tourist town 124 miles northwest of Calgary, Alberta.
A huge rock shelf gave way and cascaded down the mountain along the Bow Glacier Falls hiking trail, taking walkers with it.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police and Parks Canada later confirmed that two hikers tragically lost their lives – one of whom was Jutta Hinrichs.
The University of Alberta paid tribute to Jutta, describing her as a “dedicated leader and educator” who contributed significantly to the Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine’s Department of Occupational Therapy.
It continued: “As an educator, Jutta nurtured many students, preceptors and clinicians to flourish and grow.
“That her work continues to enrich the tapestry of occupational therapy in Alberta is her legacy.”
Corporal Gina Slaney with RCMP said that information about the second victim will be released after the family has been notified.
Local resident Niclas Brundell was hiking on the trail at the time.
He and his wife were among a group standing to the right of the falls when they noticed small rocks start tumbling down the mountain.
Alarmed, the two of them fled the area.
Nicals told CBC news: “I turned round and saw basically a whole shelf of a mountain come loose.
“We just kept sprinting and I couldn’t see the people behind us anymore because they were all in that cloud of rock.
“I saw rocks coming tumbling out of that. So it was big. It was, like, the full mountainside.”
The Bow Glacier Falls hiking trail is a six-mile route running along the edges of Bow Lake.
It’s considered a moderate challenge for hikers, and day-trippers include families.
Francois Masse, the Parks Canada Superintendent for the Lake Louise, Yoho, and Kootenay Field Unit, remarked that the rockfall was an “extremely rare event,” emphasizing that it was “neither predictable nor preventable”.
While rockfalls are fairly common in the Rockies, he said “the size of the slab that detached” was “exceptional”.
The trail to Bow Glacier Falls has been closed for the foreseeable future, he said.
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said she was deeply saddened by the tragic accident.
“We are thinking of all those involved and wishing for their safety as we await further details,” she said in a post on social media.
Ron Hallman, president and CEO of Parks Canada, said: “My thoughts are with the families and friends of those who are affected.”
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney also offered his condolences.
He said: “I want to address the tragedy at Bow Glacier Falls, and offer my condolences to the loved ones of those who have lost their lives in this tragic accident. And wish a full recovery to all those injured.”
