Survivors of the catastrophic avalanche in California's Sierra Nevada mountain range that claimed at least eight lives were rescued after using an emergency feature available on some iPhones.
The iPhone emergency SOS feature allows users to send messages to first responders when they have no cell signal, data or Wi-Fi available. When the avalanche near Lake Tahoe on Feb. 17 hit, six people from a group of 15 survived, but they were stranded amid a fierce winter storm.
The six were rescued from the remote backcountry hours later, and two had injuries that were not life-threatening. Eight people were found deceased, but their bodies have not yet been recovered from the mountain. One skier is still unaccounted for but presumed dead as of the latest update from authorities on Feb. 18.
The lone guide to survive from the company that organized the trip used the iPhone SOS feature to text with the Nevada County Sheriff's Office, which deployed skilled rescue crews to their location. The group also used signals from what's known as an avalanche beacon, which allows skiers to send radio signals so they can be tracked by first responders. The guide relayed to authorities that there were six survivors and was told they needed to shelter in place as best they could.
