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08. 02. 10. - 16:00

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08. 02. 10. - 16:00

Brit toddler crushed by snowman

Michael Leidig

A British toddler stopped breathing when he was crushed by a giant snowman during a ski holiday in Austria.

Three-year-old Louis Vindal-Nisbett's parents watched in horror as the youngster was engulfed in rock hard snow and ice when the 10ft high snowman built as part of a local tourism board initiative to promote the region collapsed on top of him.

His desperate dad Yves Vindal (CORR), 31, told how he clawed at the snow with his bare hands to pull his son free at the Leutasch ski resort in Tyrol, Austria.

"There was a loud crack and then my son vanished under a mass of snow and ice. I ran over straight away and my only thought was to get Louis out as soon as possible," he said.

"But the snow was like concrete. I was ripping and tearing at the snow and my hands were bleeding but I didn't care. It was like he was trapped in cement - it was only when others rushed over to help that we managed to get him out.

"By the time I pulled him out from under the snowman he had turned blue and was no longer breathing. We had to perform artificial respiration to get him breathing again," he added.

The family from Chorleywood, Hertfordshire, had arrived in the resort from the UK only minutes earlier on Sunday morning and were waiting outside their hotel when the accident happened.

The youngster was flown with his mother Michelle Nisbett (corr) to the General Hospital in Innsbruck on the emergency rescue helicopter Christophourus 1, where he was treated as an avalanche victim and put into an artificial coma as doctors determined his injuries.

A hospital spokesman said: "Once it was clear he seemed to have no other more serious injuries he was awoken and moved to a normal ward. The reason for the quick recovery is due to the speed with which medical services here can react to cater to avalanche victims - we put the same procedures into operation.

"As a winter sports area we are used to responding quickly to winter sports accidents. Rapid transport of the patient and fast treatment are the best hopes to ensure a quick recovery.

He added: "The child is now out of danger and we anticipate he will soon be able to leave the ward."

Local police spokesman Inspector Johannes Adentung confirmed they were investigating to see whether criminal charges should be brought.

He said: "A report is being prepared for prosecutors who will decide how to proceed.

"There were a number of other snow sculptures in the area and in order to ensure the safety of the public these have now been dismantled."

Leutasch tourism board official Martina Nairz said they wanted to apologise to the family for the tragic accident.

She said: "The snow figure had been introduced as part of our annual snow festival event - we invite prominent snow artists to attend and this year they designed snow figures around the theme of the Olympic games. As far as I know the youngster had been touching the snowman's arm when the arm and part of the figure came free and buried him.

"The figures had been there for a week without any problems. We are obviously waiting for the report from experts before we can comment more."

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