Ski crash miracle in the Alps
Hero Briton, 68, rescued from crevasse after he saves two brothers in helicopter crash
AN HEIR to the Courage brewing dynasty has been hailed a hero after he saved the lives of two fellow skiers when their helicopter crashed into a mountain.
Edward Courage was alongside brothers Guy and Ted Hitchens when the helicopter they were in ploughed into a rock face.
Mr Courage, 68, pushed Guy, 23, and Ted, 18, out of the aircraft as disaster struck during an early morning heli-skiing trip in the Swiss Alps.
He suffered several broken bones but his quick thinking saved their lives. Three other fliers, pilot Jerome Lovey, guide Adam George, 45, and fellow skier James Goff, 34, were killed in Tuesday’s tragedy at Le Petit Combin above the resort of Verbier.
Weather conditions were said to be good at the time, but one experienced pilot told local media the area was ‘prone to gusts’.
Officials said the B3 helicopter, operated by local firm Air Glaciers, hit the mountainside, plunged into snow, then triggered an avalanche as it slid down the steep slope.
Mr Courage pushed the brothers to safety, then survived a 1,640ft drop as well as a further 100ft plunge into a crevasse, where he was eventually rescued five hours later.
The Hitchens brothers’ parents, Richard and Maeve, who live in Cobham, Surrey, said in a statement: ‘Our thoughts are with the families of James, Adam and the pilot for their appalling losses.
‘Ted was released from hospital today on crutches. Guy is still in hospital. No operations currently required but severely beaten up and bed-bound.’
Pictures on Guy’s social media show him skiing regularly in Verbier and on website LinkedIn he is listed as working for Alpine F1 racing team as a junior engineer at Enstone, near Leicester.
He went to Epsom College before completing a degree in product design and engineering at the University of Nottingham last summer.
Valais police said: ‘Having reached the summit of a mountain culminating
‘It has hit the community hard’
at 3,668m above sea level, for a reason that the investigation will have to determine, the aircraft slid down the northern slope.’
A picture in a Swiss newspaper showed slide marks down the mountain and locals said the crash site was visible from Verbier.
Mr Courage is undergoing surgery in hospital at nearby Sion. His wife Nicola is with him.
He is a prominent member of Verbier’s English- speaking community, having owned a chalet in the town for more than 40 years, and is part of the English Speaking Church of Verbier Association.
Michael Stannard, a member of the association, told MailOnline: ‘I’ve known Edward and his wife for a very long time and our thoughts are with them and everyone else involved.
‘It’s a tragedy that has hit the community hard, it’s very upsetting and I’m sure our group will be trying to arrange some sort of help or assistance in whatever way we can.
‘I’ve been in touch with Edward’s wife and offered her help and support and she has kindly acknowledged that and all in the English community in Verbier wish him well.’
He added: ‘When I heard that he had pushed the two boys out and saved their lives it didn’t surprise me at all as it sounds just the sort of thing Edward would do.
‘ He’s a very selfless man and absolutely delightful and we all just wish him the best in these terrible circumstances.’
American Adam George was an experienced guide from New Hampshire and had climbed El Capitan in California and the north face of the Eiger in Switzerland.
Friends have set up a donation page for his widow, Caroline George-Ware, who is also a mountain guide, and their daughter Olivia.
A skier who arrived at the summit shortly after the crash was reported to have said: ‘We landed after them on the south side of Le Petit Combin
and saw the avalanche. it was horrific.
‘ We couldn’t make out the helicopter, it was consumed in the avalanche.
‘We heard of the crash over the radio. We were advised to get safely off the mountain.’
seven helicopters were sent as part of the rescue effort and an investigation has been opened by the swiss Federal Prosecutor’s office.
the Le Petit Combin area is popular with heli- skiers and five ridges extend from the summit’s
1,000ft-long and 650ft-wide plateau. Air Glaciers says on its homepage that it is ‘a paradise for freeriders’.
in a heartbreaking tribute on her instagram page, Adam George’s wife Caroline, wrote: ‘ Don’t be gone! Don’t be gone! Don’t be gone, Adam.
‘i need those beautiful arms to hold me up and that beautiful neck for me to sink my nose into.
‘olivia needs all of her Daddy to make her believe in miracles.
‘Don’t be gone, please!’