An errant snowboarder nearly triggered the deaths of three people who were buried alive under an avalanche last Friday afternoon leveling homes in Missoula, Montana.

Missoula is nestled at the nearly five thousand-foot high Mount Jumbo near the junction of several mountain valleys.

Apparently unaware of the rules banning snowsports on the mountain, the snowboarder sparked the snow slide around 4 p.m. Down below, Erin Scoles was watching her son and daughter play in the yard when out of nowhere the roaring ice engulfed the children — 8-year-old Phoenix and 10-year-old Coral.

An elderly couple were also buried when their nearby house was destroyed.

More than of people scrambled with snow probes searching for the buried. Incredibly Coral pulled herself free.

Thanks to an air pocket in the ice, Phoenix managed to avoid suffocation before being pulled to safety before suffocating. The elderly couple also made it out alive.

On realizing what had happened, the snowboarder also joined in the rescue efforts.

Local authorities say they are worried the snow on Mount Jumbo is unstable and are worried recent snowfall is increasing the the danger of another avalanche.

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