Authorities in Alaska said they would attempt Thursday to reach the site of an avalanche that trapped three skiers, who were believed to have died after being buried in snow. Poor weather prevented Alaska State Troopers,

Authorities have identified three men who died Tuesday after being buried by a massive avalanche during a guided heli-skiing trip in the Chugach Mountains near Girdwood. The Alaska State Troopers on Thursday said the men were 39-year-old David Linder, of Florida; 39-year-old Charles Eppard, of Montana; and 38-year-old Jeremy Leif, of Minnesota.

Radio Mankato identified one of the skiers caught in the backcountry avalanche as David Linder, who was part of a heli-skiing group.

The skiers were caught in a slide Tuesday afternoon near the west fork of the Twentymile River. They weren't immediately recovered due to deep snow in the area.

Tuesday’s slide measured more than a half-mile long with a debris pile estimated to be 40 to 100 feet deep, authorities said.

A 38-year-old Minnesota man was identified as one of three people believed to have died in an avalanche south of Anchorage.

The skiers were caught in a slide Tuesday afternoon near the west fork of the Twentymile River, which buried them “between 40 feet and nearly 100 feet deep.”

The large avalanche occurred Tuesday afternoon in the Chugach Mountains near Girdwood, according to the Alaska Department of Public Safety.

Alaska State Troopers said three skiers are likely dead after an avalanche buried them in the Chugach Mountains near Girdwood, Alaska, on Tuesday.

Three heli-skiers are presumed dead after they were caught in an avalanche Tuesday, Alaska State Troopers said Wednesday in a statement. The large avalanche buried the skiers at about 3:30 p.m. local time near Girdwood.