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A 12-year-old boy has miraculously survived being buried in snow for over 40 minutes after an avalanche hit the French skiing resort of La Plagne.
French police in the Alpine town of Bourg Saint-Maurice said the boy was skiing off piste in a group of seven skiers on Wednesday when he was swept away and buried.
His rescuers described finding him unhurt after 40 minutes in the snow as a true “miracle”.
The incident happened when the boy started going down the mountain ahead of the others in his group.
He was the only one caught when a large section of snow detached and roared down the mountain, police said.
He was dragged at least 100 metres by the force of the avalanche.
Rescue workers flew in a helicopter to the avalanche scene, which was at an altitude of 7,875 feet.
A sniffer dog found the boy, whose winter jacket was not equipped with an avalanche detector.
Rescue workers described the operation as “miraculous” because they said chances of survival are minuscule after 15 minutes under the snow.
Abandoned Alps Ski Resort in South KoreaShow all 15 1 /15Abandoned Alps Ski Resort in South Korea Abandoned Alps Ski Resort in South Korea An overview of the abandoned Alps Ski Resort, a former holiday destination in South Korea’s far north-east close to the Demilitarized Zone that divides the peninsula
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Abandoned Alps Ski Resort in South Korea Ski boots piled up in a former restaurant. The resort is close to the city of Sokcho
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Abandoned Alps Ski Resort in South Korea An accommodation block in the resort. The Alps Ski Resort was one of the country’s first winter sports destinations
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Abandoned Alps Ski Resort in South Korea A derelict swimming pool, in the resort which abruptly shut its doors in 2006
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Abandoned Alps Ski Resort in South Korea Skis and golf carts left in a facility. The Alps Ski Resort attracted tens of thousands of skiers a year when it was open
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Abandoned Alps Ski Resort in South Korea Closed ski-hire shops. South Korea has spent $800m (£562m) on the sporting facilities for next month’s Winter Olympics
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Abandoned Alps Ski Resort in South Korea Rows of chairs in a ballroom. The IOC has expressed concern over the absence of future plans for the new facilities in Pyeongchang
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Abandoned Alps Ski Resort in South Korea Closed ski-hire shops and bars. The IOC now says the legacy of next month’s games should be addressed as a priority
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Abandoned Alps Ski Resort in South Korea Abandoned ski lifts close to the Alps Ski Resort
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Abandoned Alps Ski Resort in South Korea The desolate Alps Ski Resort lies in an area which receives the heaviest snowfall in the country
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Abandoned Alps Ski Resort in South Korea The main lobby of the Eighties-era visitor centre
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Abandoned Alps Ski Resort in South Korea Crockery in an abandoned restaurant. For 250 residents, livelihoods were lost when the resort closed
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Abandoned Alps Ski Resort in South Korea A faded poster in an office. Many of the new facilities in Pyeonchanng will be torn down after use
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Abandoned Alps Ski Resort in South Korea Residential blocks and hotels in the resort, empty for over a decade. The future is uncertain for many of the permanent structures built for the coming Olympics
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Abandoned Alps Ski Resort in South Korea Oh Geum-Sik standing in his ski rental shop in the empty resort
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Police said one of the reasons the boy survived was that his airways were not blocked by snow.
“We can call it a miracle. A day after Christmas, there was another gift in store,” Captain Patrice Ribes told AP .
The boy was still sent to a local hospital for a checkup.
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