World champion freestyle skier dies in Japanese avalanche

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The famous American sportsman Kyle Smein got into the snow trap. The tragedy occurred when he and his friends were vacationing at a ski resort. It is reported by The Sun.

Titled American athlete Kyle Smein has died at the age of 31. The tragedy occurred on Sunday 29 January. Smein and four friends were skiing at the Japanese ski resort of Tsugaike near the 2,469-meter Hakuba Norikura mountain. The avalanche was provoked by an Austrian skier who was in another group. Three of Kyle's friends managed to escape from under the snow trap. An eyewitness to the tragedy, photographer Gunderson, told the details of the incident.

“Kyle was thrown about 50 meters, and then covered with snow. His friend was found next to him, who died from injuries to internal organs. And here is another one of our comrades who was covered with snow at a depth of one and a half meters and stayed there for 25 minutes, but they managed to save him”, – said an eyewitness to the incident.

A few hours before the tragedy, Kyle Smein posted a video on Instagram. The athlete enthusiastically told how he likes to relax in Japan.

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