A frantic scenario unfolded at a California ski resort on Friday when an avalanche left a man buried alive underneath the snow for six long minutes.
Luckily, some good samaritans noticed the man’s snowboard and immediately jumped into action, fervently digging through layers of thick snow until finally locating him.
The amazing rescue at Squaw Valley Ski Resort near Lake Tahoe was captured on video, with the footage showing rescuers pushing and digging through snow until the man’s face appears, as KABC-TV reported.
Watch the incredible footage below:
The avalanche affected five people, though three escaped without injury. One other person was treated and released, but one man was unfortunately hospitalized with a serious injury to his lower back, according to KABC.
Heather Turping was snowboarding when the incident unfolded and said that two factors helped save the man’s life: his wife started screaming that her husband was missing, and the man’s snowboard was visible above the snow.
“Whoever spotted that snowboard sticking out, good job,” one man proclaimed in the rescue footage.
Miraculously, the man who was buried was not serious injured and even snowboarded back down the hillside after the rescue.
“I took my gloves off and I helped dig him out,” Turping told KABC. “When he got uncovered, a ski patroller said, ‘You were under for six minutes.'”
Thank God for a safe rescue, and prayers up to those recovering.