A significant rescue mission took place 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 offer assistance. In a video shared online, the 37-year-old creative director can be observed approaching the individual buried in fresh snow and clearing the airways to ensure breathing.
With the help of fellow skiers, Matteo comforted the buried boy, assuring him of their efforts to extricate him. Their swift actions led to the successful rescue of the trapped skier, as Matteo recounted on Instagram: “We freed him, and fortunately, no harm was done.”
Providing more details on social media, Matteo disclosed his initial assumption that the person had lost their skis, recalling a distant figure struggling to walk uphill without them. Upon closer inspection, he realized the individual was completely submerged in snow.
Describing the incident, Matteo said, “We were skiing in Engelberg on a day with heavy snowfall. Amidst the snowstorm, we received around 40 to 50 centimeters of fresh powder. I spotted a person in the distance attempting to ascend without skis, leading me to believe they were misplaced, prompting me to assist in the search.”
“However, when I turned my head, I noticed a foot protruding from the snow. I immediately rushed over, cleared the snow from the person’s face and mouth, and engaged in conversation to check for injuries. We determined he was unharmed and proceeded to cautiously remove the remaining snow covering his body.”
“We learned that he had been skiing downhill, overlooked some small bushes, and tumbled into the snow. Although my emotions were intense, they were secondary. The paramount concern was preserving his life.”
Snow avalanches are responsible for an average of 100 fatalities annually in Europe, according to the European Avalanche Warning Services. During the 2024/2025 season, a total of 70 deaths were recorded, with 20 in Switzerland, 21 in France, 11 in Italy, and eight in Austria.
In December 2024, Swiss Olympic snowboarder Sophie Hediger, a member of the national snowboard cross team, tragically perished in an avalanche at the age of 26. Hediger, who represented Switzerland at the 2022 Winter Olympics and aspired to compete in the 2026 Games in Italy, was caught in the avalanche at the Arosa mountain resort.
Similarly, in April of the same year, at least three individuals, one of whom was a 15-year-old, lost their lives in an avalanche in Zermatt, located in the southern canton of Valais. A fourth person sustained injuries and was airlifted to a nearby medical facility. Valais police, in a post shared on Twitter on April 1, reported that “several individuals were swept away” by the avalanche that occurred around 2 pm on Easter Monday, resulting in the tragic deaths of three people, including a teenager, and injuries to another.
