Boy survives avalanche that buried him for 40 minutes
A 12-year-old boy has been found alive after being buried under an avalanche for 40 minutes in the French Alps.
Police in the town of Bourg Saint-Maurice said the boy was skiing off-piste at the La Plagne ski resort with a group of seven skiers on Wednesday when he was swept away by a huge mass of snow.
Rescue workers flew by helicopter to the avalanche scene, which was 7,875ft up the mountain.
A sniffer dog found the boy, whose snowsuit was not equipped with an avalanche detector.
Rescue workers described the operation as "miraculous" because the chances of survival are minuscule after 15 minutes under the snow.
The boy escaped unscathed and was sent to a local hospital for a check-up.
