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A British skier saved the lives of two brothers by pushing them out of a helicopter just seconds before it was taken down a mountain by a horror avalanche in the Swiss Alps.
Edward Courage shoved young brothers Teddy and Guy Hitchens out of the stricken helicopter as it tumbled off the peak of the Petit Combin mountain near Verbier on Tuesday morning.
Mr Courage, in his 70s, kept calm before leaping to safety himself before the Air-Glaciers B3-type chopper was consumed by the avalanche, killing pilot Jerome Lovey, fellow skier James Goff and expert guide Adam George.
Mr Courage fell down the slope several hundred feet before being discovered around five hours later with a number of broken bones. Like the two brothers, he was taken to hospital where is was undergoing treatment.
The Hitchens’ parents, Richard and Maeve, said in a statement reported by The Telegraph: “Our thoughts are with the families of James, Adam and the pilot for their appalling losses.
“Ted was released from hospital today on crutches. Guy is still in hospital. No operations currently required but severely beaten up and bed-bound.”
A spokesperson for Valais regional police force said: “Having reached the summit of a mountain culminating at 3,668 metres above sea level, for a reason that the investigation will have to determine, the aircraft slid down the northern slope.”
Helicopter owner Air Glaciers, who was also involved in the rescue efforts, told local media: “We are deeply shocked by this event. Our thoughts are with the families and relatives of the victims.”
Seven rescue helicopters were deployed to the area, helping extract two of the people on board and carrying them to a nearby hospital, a police statement said. Another person was rescued but three others were found dead.
Federal prosecutors are to take charge of the investigation along with regional and national police.
It comes after an American teenager and two other people were killed in an avalanche nearby, close to the Swiss resort of Zermatt.
Alex Beiga’s swimming coach confirmed the 15-year-old was one of the people who were killed.
“Alex was the first one to say ‘yes, let’s do it, let’s go make memories.’ He was just so vibrant, so full of life,” said Emilija Mockus, a family friend. “The only calm part of me is that knowing how adventurous he was and how much he loved skiing was that he, he was looking at the most beautiful mountains.”
The avalanche occurred at about 2pm Monday in an off-piste area of the Riffelberg, above the resort and below the famed Matterhorn peak.
Rescuers recovered three bodies and the injured skier, a 20-year-old Swiss man.
Last month a family of five who “lost their bearings” froze to death during an icy storm on an Alps ski tour.
The cross-country skiers, five of them members of the same family from Valais canton, went missing near the 3,710 metre-high Tête Blanche mountain on Saturday on the Zermatt-Arolla path.
Brothers Jean-Vincent Moix, 30, David Moix, 27, and Laurent Moix, 21 were found dead on the mountain alongside their cousin Marc Moix, 44, and uncle Joel Moix, 58.
More than a dozen people have lost their lives in avalanches in Switzerland since October last year.
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