Avalanche Survivor Photo: zeitungsfoto.at

An Austrian man is alive after being buried under 5 feet of snow for ten hours in the Alps. The avalanche occurredon Sunday in Gschnitztal, Tyrol, Austria. The skiers companion, a 27-year-old German man, tragically lost his live in the incident.

A helicopter search team spotted the avalanche debris after the two men were reported missing at around 6:45 p.m. The avalanche has been reported as being around 1,300 feet long and 650 feet wide.

The 23-year-old survivor was flown to hospital in Innsbruck and is reported to be in a stable condition. He is being treated for hypothermia.

“We didn’t think that anyone would have survived such a powerful avalanche,” helicopter pilot Helmut Metzler told the Austria Press Agency. Authorities said it was almost a miracle the skier had been able to survive for such a long time under the snow.

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