Two die in avalanche on Mount Washington

MOUNT WASHINGTON, N.H. -- An avalanche on Mount Washington slammed into a trio of climbing parties Friday, killing two men, officials said.

Seven people in all were swept 1,000 feet down Tuckerman Ravine just before 11:30 a.m., state Fish and Game Lt. Martin Garabedian said. Others climbing in the area called for help.

Four of the men were buried in the snow, but one managed to free himself and another was hospitalized.

The dead were identified as Thomas Burke, 46, of Springfield, N.H., and Scott Sandburg, 32, of Arlington, Mass.

The 6,288-foot peak, the highest in the Northeast, has some of the world's worst weather and was the site of the highest wind speed ever recorded -- 231 mph on April 12, 1934.