Alps helicopter hero: ‘All hell broke loose, I thought, my time is up’
As tribute paid to young Irishman who died in crash...
AN eyewitness has described the scene after an Irishman and two others were killed in the Swiss Alps when their helicopter crashed during an avalanche.
Experienced skier James Goff, 34, from Co. Dublin, was killed on Tuesday when the helicopter carrying six people to the summit of Petit Combin to begin their ski trip crashed and slid down the northern slope of the mountain.
American mountain guide Adam George, 45, and pilot Jerome Lovey, a local father of two, died alongside him, while three British skiers were injured.
Heroic skier Edward Courage, 68, who saved the lives of two young British brothers, admitted: ‘I thought my time was up.’
Eyewitnesses have suggested the helicopter was swept up in an avalanche as it tumbled down the mountain, and investigations into the tragedy are ongoing.
James Goff, who is more commonly known as Jimmy, was the son of millionaire couple Robert and Sheelagh Goff – the owners of the 4,000 acre Ballinacor Estate in Rathdrum, Co. Wicklow.
He is also the sister of novelist and publisher Sarah Davis-Goff, author of Silent City and Last Ones Left Alive.
Mr Goff had an extensive education in Ireland, the UK and the United States.
He attended the prestigious boarding school, Gordonstoun – the Scottish
‘Popular with staff and students’
school attended by King Charles.
He then moved to Edinburgh College, Dublin Business School and TU Dublin, where he studied business and property economics.
Dr Frank Harrington of TU Dublin said in a statement: ‘On behalf of the School of Surveying and Construction Innovation and TU Dublin, I want to express our deep sadness and shock at the sudden and untimely loss of James Goff. Jimmy studied Property Economics in Bolton Street, graduating in 2013, and he was popular with staff and students alike. We extend the very deepest sympathy to Jimmy’s family, friends, and alumni who studied alongside him in Bolton Street over the years. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam.’
Mr Goff qualified as a ski instructor in 2007 with the British Association of Snowsport Instructors.
He worked for the United Nations for more than three years and spent a considerable amount of time in Zimbabwe and Lebanon as a project officer and developer. He was also an intern in 2014 with the Irish Department of Foreign Affairs in the San Francisco Bay area.
Crash Survivor Edward Courage’s quick thinking saved Guy Hutchings, 23, and his brother Teddy, 18. Mr Courage fell 1,600ft down the Petit Combin mountain near Verbier before plunging another 100ft into a crevasse. He was saved after contacting rescuers using an SOS app on his phone.
Guy and Teddy had been swept more than 3,000ft down the mountain but somehow survived with relatively minor injuries.
Guy remains in hospital and, although he requires no operations, he is ‘severely beaten-up and bed-bound’. His younger brother was released yesterday on crutches.
Speaking exclusively to the Mail from his hospital bed, Mr Courage – who has a broken left arm and wrist, a shattered collarbone and seven broken ribs – said: ‘We were about to land when all hell broke loose.
‘All of a sudden there was a lot of snow, and these very big chunks were hitting the windscreen, and there was this tremendous noise.
‘Then there was the sensation of toppling down and I could see one of the blades slicing past the front of the helicopter at about 500mph. I realised then that our chances of survival were pretty remote. In the confusion, I think I just sort of fumbled into Guy as I leapt out and grabbed hold of Teddy and they both sort of fell out with me.’
He added: ‘I fell down the cliff face on my backside and I thought my time was up.’
Mr Courage then dropped into a crevasse – which may have saved his life as a huge mass of snow, rock and ice swept over him. He was able to activate the EchoSOS app on his phone and speak to rescuers. He said it took four hours for them to reach him and send down a harness from a helicopter. Swiss safety authorities have opened an investigation to clarify the cause of the incident, while the Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland has started a criminal investigation into the incident. Seven helicopters were sent as part of the rescue effort and an investigation has been opened by the Swiss Federal Prosecutor’s Office.