Skier Saves Two Lives in Helicopter Crash that Kills Three

A helicopter transporting skiers crashed in the Pennine Alps of Switzerland Tuesday morning, leaving three passengers dead and another three injured.

The crash took place shortly before 9:30 a.m. near a heliski landing site on the northern face of Petit Combin, according to local news outlet SWI. The victims have been identified as 45-year-old American ski guide Adam George, helicopter pilot and father of two Jerome Lovely, and James Goff, whose nationality has yet to be verified. George, a New Hampshire native, was an established mountaineer and ski guide. He leaves behind his wife and fellow ski guide Caroline George, and their young daughter.

Seven rescue aircrafts, including helicopters from Zermatt and Swiss Air rescue unit REGA, were deployed to help locate and recover the victims, according to police (translated to English). Survivor Edward Courage of the UK is believed to have saved the other two survivors, brothers Teddy and Guy Hitchens, also believed to be from the UK, by pushing them out of the helicopter as it began to slide down the mountainside, The Telegraph reports.

Courage, of the Courage Brewery family that lives in Verbier, was found after about five hours of searching. The skier had fallen into a 98-foot crevasse but landed on a ledge. He was located by his beacon and airlifted to a nearby hospital where he underwent surgery to repair several broken bones.

The helicopter, a B3-type operated by Air Glaciers, was en route to the top of the Petit Combin near Verbier when it began to side down the northern slope. The Telegraph also cited eyewitness testimony that the helicopter was consumed by an avalanche, leaving only debris at the initial crash site.

The weather on the morning of the crash was reportedly sunny with the occasional gust of wind. The cause of the crash is under investigation by both the Swiss Federal Prosecutor’s Office (MPC) and the SESE (Swiss Safety Investigation Service).

This crash is believed to be the third helicopter in Valais this year, and the first commercial incident. This incident also occurred nearby but is unrelated to Monday’s avalanche in Zermatt, which killed three.