A significant rescue mission was initiated on a Swiss mountain when a skier discovered a boy trapped under an avalanche. While skiing in Engelberg, Matteo Zilla noticed a waving arm and promptly halted to assist. In a video shared on social media, the 37-year-old creative director is seen approaching the individual, who was buried under freshly fallen snow due to the avalanche, and clearing his airways.
Assisted by fellow skiers, Matteo worked to reassure the buried boy, promising to extricate him. Their prompt actions led to the successful rescue of the trapped skier, as Matteo confirmed on Instagram: “We freed him, and fortunately, there were no adverse outcomes.”
Providing more insights on social media, Matteo disclosed that he initially assumed the person had misplaced their skis, recalling a man struggling uphill without them. However, upon closer inspection, he realized the individual was completely submerged under the snow.
He recounted, “We were skiing in Engelberg on a powder day. It was snowing, and we received approximately 40 to 50 centimeters of fresh powder. I spotted a distant figure appearing to walk uphill without skis, so I presumed they had lost them, prompting me to descend and aid in the search.”
“However, upon turning my head, I noticed a foot protruding from the snow. I immediately approached, cleared the snow from his face and mouth, and communicated with him to assess any injuries. It became evident that he was unharmed, and we slowly removed the remaining snow from his body.”
“We discovered that he had been skiing downhill, encountered some small bushes, and tumbled into the snow. While my emotions were heightened, they were secondary. The primary focus was on saving his life.”
According to the European Avalanche Warning Services, snow avalanches claim an average of 100 lives annually in Europe. During the 2024/2025 season, 70 fatalities were recorded, with Switzerland, France, Italy, and Austria reporting notable numbers.
In December 2024, Swiss Olympic snowboarder Sophie Hediger, a member of the national snowboard cross team, tragically perished in an avalanche at Arosa mountain resort at the age of 26. Sophie, who represented Switzerland in the 2022 Winter Olympics and aspired to compete in the 2026 Games in Italy, was caught in the incident.
In April of the same year, at least three individuals, including a 15-year-old, lost their lives in an avalanche in Zermatt, Valais. A fourth person was found injured and airlifted to a nearby hospital. Valais police, in a statement shared on Twitter on April 1, confirmed that several people were swept away by the Easter Monday avalanche, resulting in the tragic deaths of three individuals, including a teenager, and injuries to another.
