Rescue effort under way after Banff rockfall kills two hikers

Two people are dead after a rockfall struck several hikers in the Banff National Park in the Canadian Rockies.

Another three people were reported injured, as rescuers continue the search for potential survivors. Authorities have not said if anyone is missing.

The first victim, a 70-year-old woman from Calgary was found on Thursday. The second was discovered on Friday, according to a joint statement from Parks Canada and Lake Louise Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP).

The Bow Glacier Falls hiking trail is six miles (9 km) long and runs along Bow Lake. It is classified as a moderate hiking challenge.

The conditions of the three injured people who were taken to hospital on Thursday have been upgraded to stable, the RCMP said on Friday.

The rockfall happened on Thursday afternoon north of Lake Louise, a tourist town 124 miles (200 km) northwest of Calgary, Alberta.

"We are all heartbroken by the recent tragedy at Bow Glacier Falls in Banff National Park. On behalf of Parks Canada, my thoughts are with the families and friends of those who are affected," Ron Hallman, president and CEO of Parks Canada, said.

Videos of the incident shared online show a large rock falling down a mountainside and large clouds of dust rising up.

Bow Lake is now closed and a no-fly order was put in place over the area as the search continues.

"We are thinking of all those involved and wishing for their safety as we await further details," Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said in a social media post.

Niclas Brundell witnessed the rockfall as he was hiking in the area with his wife.

"We heard this like 'chunk' noise and the whole roof of the wall came loose," he told CBC News. "And we just started sprinting down. I was yelling at my wife, 'Go, go, go! We need to run as fast as we can.

"We just kept sprinting and I couldn't see the people behind us anymore because they were all in that cloud of rock. And I saw rocks coming tumbling out of that. So it was big. It was, like, the full mountainside."

Mr Brundell estimated there were15 to 20 people in the area at the time of the rockfall.