A rescue was underway at press time this afternoon to pull three missing snowmobilers from Atlin off the Llewelyn Glacier, with help being provided by the U.S. Coast Guard.

Cpt. Guy Ridler of the Joint Victoria Rescue Centre in Victoria said this afternoon that the U.S. Coast Guard out of Sitka and Kodiak, Alaska, were providing a J-Hawk helicopter and C-130 Hercules to assist in the rescue.

Preliminary details provided by rescue officials and Atlin RCMP Cpl. Larry Burke indicate seven snowmobilers left Atlin on Monday to travel into the Tulsequah River, where some of them live year-'round.

Ridler said the group of seven split up about eight kilometres from the river, with four carrying on and the other three embarking on the return 4 1/2-hour return trip to Atlin at about 6:30 p.m., or about a half-hour before sunset.

The rescue officer said Victoria was notified of the missing snowmobilers at about 3 p.m. Tuesday.

He can't speculate on what might have happened, though he did note the skies were clear and the moon would have been out for the initial portion of the return trip.

The weather changed, however, and conditions turned to blowing snow.

One can imagine the difficulty navigating high up on the mountain-top glacier under such conditions, with very little or no reference points, he said.

Ridler said the most recent word this afternoon was the crew of three were able to somehow get their GPS unit turned on, and have been able to provide the U.S. Coast Guard with an exact location.

Weather conditions are still a factor, however.

The RCMP are also dispatching a helicopter, and the three on the glacier have been in contact with an aircraft in the area.

'The three of them are OK, just a little cold,' Burke said.

The coast guard helicoptor dispatched to assist is the same model that pulled several Yukon Quest mushers off the American Summit during last month's sled dog race.