Man Survived 90-Mins Under Avalanche by Digging Cavity Allowing Room to Breathe

A man survived 90-minutes before being rescued after being buried by an avalanche in Switzerland on Tuesday. He had managed to dig a cavity around himself to give him room to breathe.

The Swiss air-rescue service Rega said the victim was flown to hospital with hypothermia and fairly severe injuries.

The man was part of a crew clearing snow from a road at Göscheneralp.  The alarm was raised by a second man, who survived the avalanche unhurt, the Zurich-based rescue service said. A helicopter team was joined by Swiss Alpine Club rescuers and three avalanche search dog teams. One of the dogs located the man, who survived because he came to rest under wet snow, but in a hole sufficient to breathe.

Göscheneralp is no stranger to devastating avalanches. In 1951 a slide killed 96 people and wiped out alpine cattle herds.