2026-04-06

Greenland Capital Hit by Fatal Nuuk Avalanche Less Than 2 Weeks After Near-Miss





A 17-year-old boy died Saturday after an avalanche struck a group of snowmobilers near Nuuk, Greenland, less than two weeks after a separate avalanche in the same area left two backcountry skiers buried up to 16 feet deep, local police are reporting.



Related: Head On A Swivel – Snowmobile Avalanche Awareness



What Happened in the Nuuk Avalanche

Nuuk Police launched a search and rescue operation at 3:45 p.m. local time after receiving a distress call about a group caught in an avalanche at a location known as Qassi, south of the Greenlandic capital. According to Greenland’s Broadcasting Corporation (KNR), six people in total were on a snowmobile trip in the area when the slide released.

Four of the group were buried. The four were located in the snow in a hypothermic state at approximately 5:30 p.m. and transported to Nuuk Airport before being taken to the hospital. Two others were separately stranded on a mountaintop in the area while rescue teams worked.

“The first reports indicate that there are probably four people buried under the avalanche. A helicopter has also been deployed. The rescue operation is still ongoing, and we are in an urgent response phase,” duty officer Karsten Højrup Kristensen of Greenland Police told Sermitsiaq.ag as the operation unfolded.

Rescue Operation and Casualties

The response involved multiple agencies. Nuuk Police, Arctic Command, Nuuk’s fire service, and the SAR Qamutit unit all worked together at the scene.

According to a formal statement later issued by Greenland Police, the 17-year-old was declared dead at Nuuk Hospital at 7:05 p.m. Two other men were hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries. A fourth person was unharmed. All next of kin have been notified.

A Second Nuuk Avalanche in Two Weeks

The incident marks the second avalanche to strike near Nuuk in under two weeks. On March 24, two backcountry skiers were caught in an avalanche near the Sisorarfiit ski lift on the outskirts of the city, buried up to 16 feet deep for nearly an hour. Both survived, aided by active avalanche transceivers that allowed rescuers to pinpoint their locations. Saturday’s fatality underscores the continued and serious avalanche hazard in the backcountry terrain surrounding the Greenlandic capital.



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