Four people are dead following two separate avalanches Sunday in the northern British Columbia backcountry.

Mounties in Terrace say police received a report of an avalanche on Mount Knauss at 1:28 p.m.

Four heli-skiers were reportedly caught in the slide on the Iridium Shoulder ski run.

Search and rescue volunteers and emergency responders were dispatched to the scene, where three skiers were confirmed dead and a fourth was airlifted to hospital.

Approximately two hours later, an avalanche claimed the life of one person near Pleasant Camp, along the B.C.-Alaska border.

The Atlin RCMP says it received an emergency alert from a Garmin handheld device near the Klehini River just before 3:30 p.m.

The alert indicated that an avalanche had struck a group of people, leaving one unconscious while the others performed CPR.

Police co-ordinated a response with volunteers from Atlin Search and Rescue, deploying a helicopter to cover the roughly 150 kilometres to the area where the alert originated.

“Upon arrival, responders confirmed that one person was deceased,” the RCMP said in a statement Monday. “Five individuals were extracted in total, with four uninjured.”

The B.C. Coroners Service has been notified and is investigating both incidents.

At least four fatal avalanches were recorded in B.C. last month, according to the latest data from Avalanche Canada.

The agency’s danger map shows elevated slide risks remain in parts of the province near Pemberton, Terrace and along the Alberta boundary.