Skier survives 17 hours buried in avalanche 

A 21-year-old Swiss skier is being hailed for his extraordinary survival after he was buried by an avalanche for 17 hours.

Cedric Genoud was swept away by a 50-metre-wide snowslide while skiing off-piste in the Evolene region of the Swiss Alps.

The Guardian reports that an air pocket enabled him to breathe and he was pulled from the 50cm of snow with only mild hypothermia.

It is nearly unheard of for someone to survive for that period of time in an avalanche. Chances of survival are almost zero after two hours beneath the snow.

Genoud is an experienced off-piste skier, but after failing to return home his family reported him missing.

Rescuers found tracks of a skier disappearing into the path of the avalanche but had to abandon the search that evening.

The search was resumed at dawn and rescuers in the helicopter spotted an area of snow moving that appeared to be a different shade of white and turned out to be Genoud's helmet.

Genoud was unable to move but a pocket of air allowed him to keep breathing as a weak oxygen supply was flowing down from the surface.

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