Searchers using infrared scan area where hikers caught in deadly Banff rockfall

By Canadian Press on June 20, 2025.

LAKE LOUISE — Rescuers in Alberta, including aircraft with infrared technology, were to resume their search Friday after a massive rockfall killed one and injured three in Banff National Park.

Parks Canada and the RCMP, in a joint statement, said they were working with Canada Task Force 2, a national disaster response team that employs rescue specialists from doctors and paramedics to dog teams, searchers and structural engineers.

They also said a geotechnical engineer was brought in to check the stability of the mountainside where the rock slide happened at Bow Glacier Falls.

Until then, the area was to be closed with a no-fly zone overhead, except for those in the search. The nearby highway, the Icefields Parkway, was open intermittently to traffic.

Those who haven’t been able to account for loved ones were asked to contact Parks Canada.

“The safety of first responders and park visitors is our top priority,” said the statement.

The slide happened Thursday afternoon by a popular hiking trail at the falls, located north of Lake Louise and 200 kilometres northwest of Calgary.

It’s a region with limited cell service.

Videos posted to social media reportedly of the slide show massive rocks crashing down a mountainside, kicking up clouds of grey dust as people clambered to safety.

STARS air ambulance said two of the injured were airlifted to hospital in Calgary. A third person was taken by ground ambulance. Their conditions were not known.

The Bow Glacier Falls hiking trail is a nine-kilometre route running along the edges of Bow Lake. It’s considered a moderate challenge for hikers and is used by tourists and day-trippers, including families.

Evidence of the rockfall was visible from across the lake. The side of the mountain near a waterfall was darkened and worn, except for a large patch that was significantly lighter, where a heap of debris lay below.

Low-flying helicopters were seen scanning the area late Thursday, making several trips between the rockfall site and the Lodge at Bow Lake.