VERBIER, SWITZERLAND – A British skier, Edward Courage, in his 70s, became a hero when he saved two siblings from a catastrophic avalanche in the Swiss Alps. The incident occurred when a helicopter carrying the trio, along with others, was swept off the Petit Combin mountain peak by a sudden avalanche.
Courage, displaying remarkable calm, managed to push the brothers, Teddy and Guy Hitchens, out of the helicopter before it was engulfed by the avalanche. He then jumped to safety himself. Tragically, the pilot, Jerome Lovey, another skier, James Goff, and guide Adam George were killed when the avalanche consumed the helicopter.
After the incident, Courage tumbled down the slope for several hundred feet, sustaining multiple injuries. He was found approximately five hours later and, like the Hitchens brothers, was transported to a nearby hospital for treatment.
The parents of the Hitchens brothers, Richard and Maeve, expressed their condolences to the families of the deceased. They also shared that Teddy had been discharged from the hospital, while Guy remained hospitalized but was not expected to undergo surgery.
The Valais regional police force and the federal prosecutors are investigating the incident. The helicopter was owned by Air Glaciers, who also participated in the rescue efforts. They expressed their shock and extended their condolences to the victims’ families.
This incident follows another recent avalanche near the Swiss resort of Zermatt, which claimed the lives of an American teenager, Alex Beiga, and two others. The avalanche took place in an off-piste area of the Riffelberg, below the famed Matterhorn peak.