MISSOULA, Mont. — An avalanche roared into a residential neighborhood in the western Montana city of Missoula on Friday and destroyed a house, but three people were found alive amid the snow and wreckage, police said.

The survivors were an elderly couple and an 8-year-old boy, police Sgt. Travis Welsh said.

No one else had been reported missing.

All three were taken to a hospital. Their conditions weren’t immediately known, but Welsh said the man was talking to rescuers.

“It’s pretty incredible that we pulled three living bodies out of there,” Welsh said.

Part of the house was upended and lying on its side, and the area around it appeared to be strewn with debris. A utility pole tilted at a pronounced angle.

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The elderly couple lived in the house that was destroyed. Police weren’t sure if the boy lived there or elsewhere.

The avalanche slid down Mount Jumbo into the northeast Missoula neighborhood at about 4 p.m.

Authorities say avalanche conditions around the city remained dangerous Friday night after a storm brought blizzard conditions to much of the region.

Police asked residents of vulnerable neighborhoods to consider leaving but did not require or recommend evacuations, Welsh said.

Neighbors and the first responders to reach the scene dug frantically through the snow and debris, the Missoulian reported.

Firefighters with avalanche probes then took over.


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