A deadly avalanche tore through the Laguna del Inca basin near Chile's Portillo ski resort on the afternoon of Saturday, October 17, killing three people and injuring four more, La Tercera reported, citing the Public Ministry. Chile's disaster agency Senapred had initially put the death toll at four in a late-afternoon update, but Valparaíso's regional presidential delegate, Manuel Millones, publicly corrected that figure the same evening, and the confirmed count stood at three as of Sunday morning. Rescue crews worked through the night while one victim remained submerged in the lake.
The slide struck at roughly 2:45 p.m. local time in the Andes mountains of the Valparaíso Region, approximately 145 kilometers northeast of Santiago by road, a few kilometers from the Paso Los Libertadores international border crossing with Argentina.
A Group Caught in Off-Limits Terrain
A slab avalanche swept a group of seven hikers while they were ascending a trail toward the summit of Los Tres Hermanos in the Laguna del Inca sector, SnowBrains reported, citing Senapred. The force of the slide drove multiple members of the group into the lake's frigid waters. Survivors were treated for hypothermia on site before being transferred to a hospital in the city of Los Andes, where three of the four injured were admitted in serious condition.
Delegate Millones confirmed in a televised interview with T13 that all seven individuals were Chilean nationals and that none held reservations at Hotel Portillo. He described them as day-trippers who had entered a section of the high cordillera that the resort's own signage clearly marked as a restricted zone, off-limits to visitors.
Resort Had Already Closed for the Season
The timing of the tragedy carries particular weight. Ski Portillo had officially wrapped up its 2026 season on October 11, and the avalanche site sat entirely outside the resort's permitted ski terrain. Established in 1949, Portillo is the oldest ski resort in South America, operating at a base elevation of approximately 2,880 meters in the Andes. Its season typically stretches from mid-June to early October, making a mid-October high-altitude excursion in the area a significant risk — snowpack remains substantial after the season but structural stability becomes increasingly unpredictable during the southern post-season transition.
General manager Miguel Purcell issued a statement expressing deep condolences and confirming that the incident occurred in an area explicitly closed to the public. La Tercera noted that the resort had posted warning signage at the entrance to the restricted zone, and that the resort's patrol team was among the first responders to reach the site after the alert was raised.
A Complicated Recovery at High Altitude
Retrieving all victims proved far more difficult than the initial rescue efforts suggested. Delegate Millones confirmed that one body remained on the lake bottom, with extraction delayed by the absence of the specialized underwater equipment required to operate in such remote, high-altitude conditions. Recovery operations were expected to resume Sunday, subject to weather, BioBioChile reported. Firefighters, an aerial Carabineros unit, SAMU emergency medics, and Senapred personnel all deployed to the scene; Carabineros transported the four injured by helicopter.
Laguna del Inca — a glacially formed alpine lake at a surface elevation of 2,853 meters — is the centerpiece of Portillo's iconic landscape. Its deep, cold waters and remote position create significant logistical obstacles for any underwater recovery operation, particularly in conditions where weather at that altitude can deteriorate with very little warning.
A Resort Built Around the Power of the Mountain
Portillo's long history is inseparable from the forces that proved deadly on Saturday. Ski Racing magazine documents how avalanches in 1965 obliterated most of the lift infrastructure on the western slopes of the valley, yet the resort completed a full rebuild in time to host the 1966 Alpine World Ski Championships — the first and, to this day, the only event of that scale ever staged in South America. The achievement placed the resort permanently on the global ski circuit and reflected the Purcell family's enduring commitment to the mountain, a commitment that has always included strict protocols around restricted terrain and avalanche awareness.
When the Mountain Stays Dangerous After the Lifts Stop
Saturday's deaths underscore the particular hazard of entering high-altitude mountain zones outside permitted boundaries during the Southern Hemisphere's post-season window. With snowpack still present but structural integrity compromised, patrol coverage reduced, and resort infrastructure shut down, the Andes cordillera in mid-October can project a misleading calm — one that conceals genuine danger for those not trained to read the mountain's warning signs.
T13 reported that two of the three victims had been identified by Sunday morning. Chilean authorities had not yet publicly released the full identities of those killed while family notifications remained ongoing. The Public Ministry confirmed that an investigation into how and why the group accessed the restricted zone was actively underway.
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