Written by Team Colitco• 2:30 am• Daily News, Home Top Stories, Homepage, Infrastructure, Top Stories, Top Story, Trending News, USA

A catastrophic rockfall struck a popular hiking trail near Bow Glacier Falls in Banff National Park on Thursday, resulting in at least one fatality and several injuries. Emergency teams continue searching the area as fears remain that more individuals could still be missing.

The incident occurred early Thursday afternoon, catching hikers off guard during what had been a routine day on the scenic trail. The path, which begins at Bow Lake, is well-known for its stunning alpine views and moderate difficulty, drawing outdoor enthusiasts year-round.

Sudden Collapse Sparks Emergency Response

Around 1:30 p.m., witnesses reported hearing a loud cracking noise, followed by a massive slide of rock and debris crashing down in the vicinity of the falls. One hiker, who declined to be named, described seeing the falling rocks and realizing people were in the direct path.

“It was terrifying—everything happened so quickly. I immediately activated my SOS beacon and reached out to emergency services,” the witness said.

Emergency units from multiple jurisdictions, including Parks Canada, RCMP, Alberta EMS, and the STARS air ambulance team, were dispatched within minutes. Two helicopters airlifted injured victims to Calgary’s Foothills Medical Centre. Another person was transported by ground ambulance. Their medical conditions have not been officially released.

One Death Confirmed, More May Be Missing

Authorities later confirmed that one individual was pronounced dead at the scene. A social media post from a local hiking group, Slow & Steady Hikers, identified the victim as a member of their team. Another hiker from the group sustained a broken arm, while others managed to escape unharmed.

“It’s devastating to lose a member of our hiking community,” the group posted. “Our hearts are with their family.”

Search teams are using drones, canine units, and ground personnel to comb through the debris field to ensure no one else remains trapped. Efforts were paused at nightfall and resumed at dawn Friday morning.

“If you suspect someone you know may have been hiking in the area on Thursday and has not returned, please call Parks Canada Dispatch at 403-762-1470,” officials said in a joint statement.

Bow Lake Trail Closed; Airspace Restricted

In the aftermath of the disaster, authorities have closed Bow Lake and the Bow Glacier Falls trail to all visitors. A no-fly zone has also been implemented to protect aerial search operations and maintain the safety of those on the ground.

Officials have assured that guests at the Alpine Club of Canada’s Bow Hut are safe and will be permitted to return via the standard route, which remains secure.

Geological experts are expected to assess the slope in the coming days to determine the cause and stability of the surrounding terrain.

Also Read: Labour MP Vicky Foxcroft Resigns Over Disability Benefit Cuts Bill

Witness Recounts Harrowing Scene

Another hiker present during the slide said the water near the falls appeared to be flowing more rapidly than usual moments before the incident. As they turned to take photos, a loud sound shattered the calm. What followed was a scene of chaos as hikers tried to flee from the falling debris.

Medical tents were quickly set up at the Bow Lake day-use area where paramedics triaged injuries. Ambulances lined the parking area as helicopters circled above. Witnesses reported seeing several people taken from the scene for treatment.

“I saw people helping each other. It was terrifying, but everyone did their best to stay calm and support those injured,” said one hiker.

Officials and Leaders Respond

The event drew swift responses from federal and provincial officials. Parks Canada CEO Ron Hallman expressed sorrow over the loss of life and extended gratitude to the teams working in difficult conditions.

“On behalf of Parks Canada, our condolences go out to those affected by this tragedy,” Hallman said. “Our staff and supporting agencies have shown professionalism and courage under extreme pressure.”

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith also issued a public statement on social media, offering thoughts and prayers for those affected and praising the work of emergency crews.

Health Minister Matt Jones said the provincial government was coordinating closely with rescue and medical teams. “Our thoughts are with the victims and their families. We are grateful for the swift action by first responders and healthcare workers.”

Ongoing Safety Measures

The trail to Bow Glacier Falls is one of the park’s most visited routes, known for its glacial landscapes and clear mountain waters. Despite being considered a moderate hike, mountain conditions can be unpredictable. Parks Canada officials noted that natural erosion and weather changes can increase risks, especially during spring and early summer.

The Icefields Parkway remains open, though traffic disruptions are expected near Bow Lake to allow crews uninterrupted access to the site. Drivers are advised to prepare for brief delays.

Investigation Underway

An investigation into the cause of the rockfall is ongoing. Geotechnical experts will conduct a detailed review of the site to identify contributing factors. In the meantime, officials continue to prioritize search and rescue efforts over recovery and assessment.

More updates will be shared as the situation evolves.

Visited 33 times, 33 visit(s) today

Banff National Park’s Bow Glacier Falls remains closed off to visitors as search and rescue operations continue to look for other possible victims of the deadly rockfall.

One of Canada’s most popular national parks turned deadly Thursday, when a sudden rockfall rained boulders and dust down on visiting hikers.

The incident occurred at about 1 p.m. Thursday, when Parks Canada received a report of a rockfall near Bow Glacier Falls in Banff National Park. Canadian officials confirmed that one person was immediately found dead at the scene. By Friday morning, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) confirmed another body was recovered by rescue crews, Global News Canada reported.

Two more victims of the rockfall were evacuated by STARS Air Ambulance, and another by ground ambulance, according to Parks Canada. The injured visitors were all in stable condition, Jasper Local reported.

“We are all heartbroken by the recent tragedy at Bow Glacier Falls in Banff National Park,” said Ron Hallman, the president of Parks Canada. “On behalf of Parks Canada, my thoughts are with the families and friends of those who are affected. I also want to express my sincere gratitude to Parks Canada’s Visitor Safety team and all supporting first responders for their courage and commitment during the rescue operation.”

At least 20 people were believed to be in the area at the time of the rockfall, according to multiple videos and personal accounts posted to social media on Friday. Video of the event shows a massive wall of rock crashing down from Bow Glacier Falls. Many onlookers ran for their lives as an enormous dust cloud engulfed nearby hikers.

Play

Rockfall Causes ‘Devastation’ at Banff National Park

Videos and photos of the incident quickly took over social media feeds on Friday, as tourists visiting the park for peace and quiet suddenly found themselves bearing witness to the fatal rockslide.

Kamala Dixon, whose Facebook profile lists her as a digital creator, has many posts of wildlife and landscapes from across Canada. She happened to be at Bow Glacier Falls on Thursday when the rockfall occurred. She posted several jaw-dropping videos and images from the event that quickly went viral online. Her videos also ended up in news feeds like the one above.

“Not sure if I’m the luckiest or unluckiest,” Dixon wrote. “As I turned right …I heard a sound like I’ve never heard before. I swing my phone around to capture not realizing what exactly I was seeing then I threw my phone and deployed my Garmin. This is an EASY hike, that people take kids and elderly to, no one could have ever expected such devastation. Please pray for the families there are many hurt and several perished.”

While Banff National Park remains open, Bow Lake is now closed to all visitors, Parks Canada noted. A no-fly zone is in place for the area to ensure public safety and for park operations, Parks Canada said.

Rescue effort under way after Banff rockfall kills two hikers

The Bow Glacier Falls hiking trail is six miles (9 km) long and runs along Bow Lake. It is classified as a moderate hiking challenge.

The first victim, a 70-year-old woman from Calgary was found on Thursday. The second was discovered on Friday, according to a joint statement from Parks Canada and Lake Louise Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP).

Another three people were reported injured, as rescuers continue the search for potential survivors. Authorities have not said if anyone is missing.

Two people are dead after a rockfall struck several hikers in the Banff National Park in the Canadian Rockies.

The conditions of the three injured people who were taken to hospital on Thursday have been upgraded to stable, the RCMP said on Friday.

The rockfall happened on Thursday afternoon north of Lake Louise, a tourist town 124 miles (200 km) northwest of Calgary, Alberta.

“We are all heartbroken by the recent tragedy at Bow Glacier Falls in Banff National Park. On behalf of Parks Canada, my thoughts are with the families and friends of those who are affected,” Ron Hallman, president and CEO of Parks Canada, said.

Videos of the incident shared online show a large rock falling down a mountainside and large clouds of dust rising up.

Bow Lake is now closed and a no-fly order was put in place over the area as the search continues.

“We are thinking of all those involved and wishing for their safety as we await further details,” Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said in a social media post.

Niclas Brundell witnessed the rockfall as he was hiking in the area with his wife.

“We heard this like ‘chunk’ noise and the whole roof of the wall came loose,” he told CBC News. “And we just started sprinting down. I was yelling at my wife, ‘Go, go, go! We need to run as fast as we can.

“We just kept sprinting and I couldn’t see the people behind us anymore because they were all in that cloud of rock. And I saw rocks coming tumbling out of that. So it was big. It was, like, the full mountainside.”

Mr Brundell estimated there were15 to 20 people in the area at the time of the rockfall.

Rescue effort under way after Banff rockfall kills two hikers

Two people are dead after a rockfall struck several hikers in the Banff National Park in the Canadian Rockies.

Another three people were reported injured, as rescuers continue the search for potential survivors. Authorities have not said if anyone is missing.

The first victim, a 70-year-old woman from Calgary was found on Thursday. The second was discovered on Friday, according to a joint statement from Parks Canada and Lake Louise Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP).

The Bow Glacier Falls hiking trail is six miles (9 km) long and runs along Bow Lake. It is classified as a moderate hiking challenge.

ADVERTISEMENT

The conditions of the three injured people who were taken to hospital on Thursday have been upgraded to stable, the RCMP said on Friday.

The rockfall happened on Thursday afternoon north of Lake Louise, a tourist town 124 miles (200 km) northwest of Calgary, Alberta.

“We are all heartbroken by the recent tragedy at Bow Glacier Falls in Banff National Park. On behalf of Parks Canada, my thoughts are with the families and friends of those who are affected,” Ron Hallman, president and CEO of Parks Canada, said.

Videos of the incident shared online show a large rock falling down a mountainside and large clouds of dust rising up.

Bow Lake is now closed and a no-fly order was put in place over the area as the search continues.

“We are thinking of all those involved and wishing for their safety as we await further details,” Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said in a social media post.

ADVERTISEMENT

Niclas Brundell witnessed the rockfall as he was hiking in the area with his wife.

“We heard this like ‘chunk’ noise and the whole roof of the wall came loose,” he told CBC News. “And we just started sprinting down. I was yelling at my wife, ‘Go, go, go! We need to run as fast as we can.

“We just kept sprinting and I couldn’t see the people behind us anymore because they were all in that cloud of rock. And I saw rocks coming tumbling out of that. So it was big. It was, like, the full mountainside.”

Mr Brundell estimated there were15 to 20 people in the area at the time of the rockfall.

Two people have died following a horrific rockslide at Canada’s Banff National Park.

The deadly landslide took place at around 1:30pm on Thursday and ‘multiple hikers’ were caught in it, the Lake Louise Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) said.

The first body was recovered shortly after, while another was discovered by search parties on Friday afternoon.

Three others were injured, but are now in stable condition as rescuers continue to search for survivors at the site of the rockfall near Bow Glacier Falls, north of Lake Louise.

‘We feel that everyone has been identified and accounted for,’ RCMP Cpl. Gina Slaney told Daily Mail, allaying previous fears the death toll was set to rise.

Jutta Hinrichs, 70, a retired clinical educator in the Department of Occupational Therapy at the University of Alberta, was the first victim recovered on Thursday.

Hinrichs’ friends told Global News that she had just returned to Canada from Peru last Friday, describing her ‘a beautiful, caring soul with a huge smile and love of people and nature.’

RCMP has not formally released the identities if the deceased, stating that they are ‘notifying their next of kin’.

Jutta Hinrichs, a retired clinical educator in the Department of Occupational Therapy at the University of Alberta, was identified by friends as the woman who was killed in the rockslide at Banff National Park on Thursday

A close up view of the rockslide shows one person fleeing the cloud of debris

The rockslide was triggered near Bow Glacier Falls on Thursday afternoon at around 1:30pm

A helicopter is seen close to the scene of the rockslide on Thursday looking for survivors. Search efforts for survivors continued into Friday

However the authorities disclosed that the first victim was a 70-year-old woman.

Video posted online of the incident showed a large shelf of stone rocketing down a mountainside, which then caused a huge cloud of gray dust to rise into the air.

One photo taken by a hiker nearby showed the debris cloud billowing up. At least one person could be seen frighteningly close to the devastating scene.

The Shock Trauma Air Rescue Service (STARS) dispatched two helicopters for the three injured hikers and transported each patient one by one to Foothills Medical Centre in Calgary yesterday.

Niclas Brundell told CBC News he was hiking in the area with his wife when the rockfall happened. He estimated that the rockfall was 160 feet wide and 30 feet deep.

‘We heard this like ‘chunk’ noise and the whole roof of the wall came loose,’ he said.

‘And we just started sprinting down. I was yelling at my wife, ‘Go, go, go! We need to run as fast as we can,” Brundell recalled.

‘We just kept sprinting and I couldn’t see the people behind us anymore because they were all in that cloud of rock. And I saw rocks coming tumbling out of that. So it was, it was big. It was, like, the full mountainside,’ he said.

He said there may have been about 15 to 20 people around at the time.

Another hiker in the area, Kamala Dixon, captured dramatic footage of the rockslide happening in real time and later posted it to social media.

‘The Falls were waaay [sic] bigger than normal and flowing very fast,’ she wrote on Facebook.

‘I felt something wasn’t right and when I heard the crack I turned around expecting to see a few rocks, instead total devastation.’

Pictured: Another two people are seen watching as the dust begins to settle

Hikers who were in the area at the time said they began running as soon as they heard a loud cracking sound

Bow Lake, about 22 miles away from Lake Louise on the Icefields Parkway, has been closed by authorities. A no-fly zone has also been established in the area.

Bow Glacier Falls, near where the rockslide occurred, is less than two miles southwest of Bow Lake and is accessible via a hiking trail.

Banff National Park and the Icefields Parkway remain open to the public, but drivers have been told to expect intermittent traffic near Bow Lake where rescue efforts are still being mounted.

‘Parks Canada and RCMP are deeply saddened by this tragic incident. Our hearts go out to the friends and families of all involved. Updates will be provided as more information comes available,’ the two agencies said in their joint statement.

Alberta’s premier, Danielle Smith, shared a statement as well, offering her condolences to the families affected by this tragic natural disaster.

‘I am deeply saddened to learn of the tragic event at Bow Glacier Falls, north of Banff, today,’ she posted on X. ‘We are thinking of all those involved and wishing for their safety as we await further details.’

‘On behalf of Alberta’s government, I also want to offer my most sincere gratitude to the emergency crews including search and rescue teams, and @STARSambulance for responding quickly,’ she added.

One of Hinrichs’ colleagues, Masako Miyazaki, posted on Facebook announcing her passing and said, ‘her loss is a profound one for our community.’

These exact areas of Banff National Park that are now closed to the public

Miyazaki, another occupational therapy professor at the University of Alberta, described Hinrichs, as ‘kind, compassionate, and deeply nurturing.’

Hinrichs had been an occupational therapist for over 36 years and had 25 years of experience teaching and being a university administrator, according to her LinkedIn profile.

The University of Alberta released a statement on Hinrichs’ death on Friday afternoon offering ‘its heartfelt sympathy to Jutta’s family, friends, former students and colleagues as they navigate the profound loss of their loved one.’

‘Jutta was a dedicated leader and educator in the Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine’s Department of Occupational Therapy from September 2012 until her retirement last July,’ the statement said.

‘She was integral to developing a southern Alberta satellite for the department, growing it from the seeds of her deep clinical and leadership experience in the Calgary area.

‘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,’ the statement concluded.