A 17-year-old ski racer from a club in Germany has died in a Calgary hospital after being severely injured during a NorAm event at Lake Louise on Tuesday.
RCMP confirmed the teenager's death late Wednesday afternoon.
EMS crews and doctors at the resort treated the teen at the scene and he was flown to Calgary by STARS at about 2:25 p.m.
Max Burkhart was a member of Skiclub Partenkirchen in Germany and officials from the club confirmed that he was badly injured during the NorAm competition. Burkhart suffered lower body injuries and had surgery at Foothills Hospital on Tuesday evening.
A teammate told CTV News that Burkhart attends school in the United States and was not travelling with the team. He says he skied the course before the race was cancelled and that conditions were good at the time.
Lake Louise Ski Resort representatives called the situation 'incredibly tragic'.
"The Locke family and all the staff at Lake Louise have been holding out hope since yesterday that this would have a better outcome," said Lake Louise spokesperson Dan Markham. "Our deepest sympathies go out to his family, his teammates and everyone involved."
Officials with Alpine Canada released a statement following the news of Burkhart's passing:
“Alpine Canada and Alberta Alpine are devastated about this tragic loss of life and sends its deepest condolences to his family and teammates. Alpine Canada and Alberta Alpine encourage the ski family around the world to support the athletes’ family and teammate through this difficult time.”
Alpine Canada says it is working with authorities to determine what happened and says the race on Thursday has been postponed until Friday.
