Jerome man dies in avalanche near Ketchum

KETCHUM, Idaho (AP) - Authorities say one person was killed in an avalanche in central Idaho on Wednesday afternoon.

The Blaine County Sheriff's Office says the victim, 50-year-old Kirk Douglas Rongen of Jerome, was snowmobiling with another person near Ketchum when the slide occurred.

The sheriff's office said dispatchers received a report of the avalanche at about 3:30 p.m., and emergency search and rescue crews from a number of agencies responded. The other snowmobiler escaped the avalanche and began searching for Rongen, using Rongen's transponder to locate him in the snow.

The Sawtooth Avalanche Center said the second snowmobiler was able to clear the ice and snow away from Rongen's face, but emergency workers were unable to revive Rongen and he died at the scene.

The Sawtooth Avalanche Center had rated the risk of avalanche as "considerable" on Wednesday.