India, Feb. 20 -- An avalanche that hit near Lake Tahoe in California on Tuesday (January 7) took the lives of eight skiers, the Nevada County Sheriff's Department confirmed on Thursday. While one remains missing, the authorities managed to rescue six of the 15 backcountry skiers who were stuck in the avalanche.

The Nevada County sheriff's office did not confirm the identity of any of the victims. However, details of some of them were released in Thursday's press conference.

In Thursday's press conference, Captain Russell Greene of Nevada County said that one of the skiers was heard shouting 'Avalanche!' just as it hit around 11am on Tuesday. Greene said that the skiers had very little time to react.

The first major details that emerge...