Partial ice cave collapse turns deadly

GRANITE FALLS, Wash. -- A partial ice cave collapse in northwest Washington state killed one person and injured four others Monday evening, a Snohomish County sheriff's spokeswoman said.

Shari Ireton said late Monday night that the person who was killed remained buried under the debris at the popular Big Four Ice Caves east of Granite Falls.

All victims were believed accounted for.

Three of the injured were airlifted to a Seattle trauma center. Among them was a 25-year-old man in critical condition. Also airlifted to Harborview Medical Center were a seriously injured 35-year-old man and a 35-year-old woman in satisfactory condition, hospital spokeswoman Susan Gregg said. Their injuries included cuts and leg and pelvic fractures, Gregg said.

A fourth person, a young girl, was sent to an Everett, Washington, hospital, the Daily Herald of Everett reported.

The U.S. Forest Service warned hikers in May that the ice caves were in their "most dangerous state" due to unseasonably warm weather. The caves, about 70 miles northeast of Seattle, are a popular hiking destination in the Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest. Temperatures in the area Monday reportedly were in the mid 80s.

CBS Seattle affiliate KIRO-TV reports there are numerous signs in the area warning hikers of the danger.

On Sunday, the dangerous instability of the caves was captured on video by hiker Sara Soleimani, reports CBSN correspondent Vladimir Duthiers. Huge slabs of ice crumbled to the ground but no one was injured.

Several tourists were inside a cave during that collapse, but there were no reported injuries.

"I wish I could've posted this video earlier," she said. "Maybe it could've helped people. ... Other than the warnings, by just looking at the cave, you could tell that this is not a safe cave to get in."

The Snohomish County Sheriff's Department says the decision to close the caves would need to come from the U.S. Forest Service.

For now, the caves will be closed to the public while rescue teams retrieve the body of the victim, Duthiers says.

The caves are formed by avalanches that cascade down from nearby Big Four Mountain during winter and spring. Most years, one or more caves form as the ice melts.

In 2010, an 11-year-old girl was killed at the caves by falling ice.