Missing hiker manages to wave to rescue helicopter while buried under snow

The moment rescuers spotted his arm waving from the snow below

A missing hiker buried alone under snow for six hours managed to use his free arm to wave down a rescue helicopter overhead.

An Air Glaciers crew was alerted at 5.41pm on February 8 to search for the missing person in the Liddes region of Switzerland.

He had been on a ski trip in the area and had told his family what his route will be, giving the search team a trail to follow - with one on foot to trace his steps and a team flying overhead.

He had sent a photo of his passage earlier in the day to his family, which gave the search team another clue to his whereabouts.

When they found him, only his head and arm were free from the snow.

"Placed on the ground, the guide of the region immediately set in motion to follow the visible traces, while the helicopter resumed its aerial search in the neighbouring corridors," Air Glaciers said in a statement.

"It was there that, going up a corridor, our pilot was able to detect a sign of life in a large pile of blocks of snow, by the simple light of the searchlight in the dark night.

"Still conscious, although buried up to his neck for more than six hours in compact snow, the survivor had only his head and one of his arms out of the casting, allowing him to signal to the helicopter at the time of his passage."

The hiker was then winched into the helicopter, where paramedics found he had slight hypothermia but was largely unharmed.

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