A 39-year-old skier has miraculously survived after an avalanche swept him into a deep crevasse in the French Alps, leaving him seriously injured and trapped beneath the snow for more than 24 hours.
The extraordinary rescue unfolded Monday, November 9, near Pointe Sommeiller, a mountain along the French-Italian border, after search crews spent hours digging through snow and ice in a desperate attempt to locate the missing man.
The skier, identified as Emeric Ossatte, had set out alone from the Alpine village of Bramans on November 7, spending the night at a mountain refuge before continuing toward the summit the following morning.
But his adventure took a terrifying turn when he reached a steep, snow-covered slope.
According to French mountain-rescue officials, Ossatte removed his skis, attached them to his backpack, and began climbing on foot using crampons.
As he crossed the slope, a slab of snow broke loose, triggering an avalanche that swept him downhill and into a hidden crevasse.
The violent fall fractured his femur, leaving him stranded beneath the snow with no cellphone service and little hope of calling for help.
But rather than surrender, Ossatte began an extraordinary fight to survive.
Despite his injuries, he managed to crawl through a narrow passage beneath the snow until he reached a sheltered cavity between the glacier and the surrounding rock.
Earlier rescue accounts described him crawling approximately 100 yards through the crevasse, with both legs reportedly injured.
Unfortunately, the passage leading back to the surface was too steep for him to climb.
With temperatures dangerously low and no reliable way to contact the outside world, Ossatte remained trapped as the hours passed.
Meanwhile, his family had begun to fear the worst.
After a concerned relative reported him missing Sunday evening, French authorities launched a major search involving mountain-rescue officers and helicopters.
Crews searched into the early morning hours before dangerous avalanche conditions forced them to suspend the operation.
They returned Monday morning, when a helicopter spotted signs of a recent avalanche near the skier’s intended route.
Rescuers began digging through the snow, gradually discovering pieces of his equipment, including a ski and backpack.
But after hours of searching, they still had no idea whether he was alive.
Then came the moment everyone had been hoping for.
After roughly five hours of digging, rescuers heard a man’s voice coming from beneath the snow.
Against extraordinary odds, Ossatte was still alive.
Teams worked to reach the injured skier, eventually extracting him using specialized ropes and rescue equipment before evacuating him by helicopter to a hospital in Grenoble.
He was suffering from hypothermia and a serious leg fracture but remained conscious.
Major Yoann Haberey, a member of the CRS Alpes mountain-rescue unit, described the survival as extraordinary, acknowledging that crews had feared they would find the skier dead.
Speaking from his hospital bed afterward, Ossatte revealed how he had forced himself to remain hopeful throughout the ordeal.
“I really tried to keep a positive thought, telling myself there was a chance,” he told French television station TF1. “And as long as I was alive, there was a chance.”
He also recalled having only his head and one arm exposed after the avalanche before managing to reach a more protected space beneath the snow.
The rescue involved dozens of emergency personnel and multiple helicopters, with crews working in dangerous conditions where another avalanche remained a possibility.
Authorities have since reminded backcountry skiers to check avalanche forecasts, carry appropriate safety equipment, and share their planned routes with someone before heading into remote mountain terrain.
For Ossatte, the experience was a terrifying reminder of how quickly a mountain adventure can become a fight for survival.
But thanks to his determination and the relentless efforts of rescuers, a search that could easily have ended in tragedy instead became an astonishing story of survival.
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