A Colorado avalanche victim was seen being dug out from underneath the snow in a dramatic rescue captured on video.
The individual – who escaped only with minor injuries – spent more than an hour beneath the snow at Vail Pass following the incident Monday afternoon, according to the Summit County Sheriff’s Office.
“Approximately two feet down, two feet under the snow, we’ve just uncovered him,” a deputy could be heard saying in bodycam video released of the rescue. “He is breathing, conscious and is speaking to us.”
Footage showed first responders shoveling away piles of snow to get to the victim, who appears to have stayed near the surface with the help of an avalanche airbag backpack.
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The victim spent more than an hour underneath the snow Monday at Vail Pass, the Summit County Sheriff’s Office said. (Summit County Sheriff’s Office)
“We are incredibly grateful for this fortunate outcome and proud of the coordinated efforts of our deputies and the Summit County Rescue Group. Their dedication and skill made this rescue possible,” the Summit County Sheriff’s Office said.
Lt. Mike Schilling told FOX Weather that the rescue was “extremely amazing.”
“We go to those rescues, and oftentimes, they’re recoveries. So to find someone after an hour and five minutes of burial is extraordinarily rare,” he added.
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Video captured the rescue of the man in Vail Pass in Colorado. (Summit County Sheriff’s Office)
Elsewhere on Monday, two backcountry skiers were killed after getting trapped in an avalanche in Oregon’s Cascade Mountains in the Happy Valley area west of Bend.
The victims identified in that incident — Susan Skjersaa, 52, and Terance Skjersaa, 57 – are part of a family that opened Bend’s first ski shop, according to the Associated Press.
An 8-year-old snowboarder also was rescued this week following a chairlift incident at Killington Ski Resort in Vermont, according to The Boston Globe.
The victim was found about two feet underneath the snow, the Summit County Sheriff’s Office said. (Summit County Sheriff’s Office)
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The child was not fully seated when the chair left the loading area Wednesday, and he eventually fell into a rescue net, the newspaper reported, citing the report.
