Avalanche survivor admits 'childish' risk

The "miracle" survivor of an avalanche in the Swiss Alps, who was buried in a concrete-like "sarcophagus" of snow for 17 hours, admitted yesterday that he should not have ventured off the beaten track.

"After the event I realise I took a childish and ill-considered risk," Cedric Genoud told journalists at the hospital where the 21-year-old was being treated after escaping from a "long cold night" with mild hypothermia.

"I saw lights.... I shouted a lot," the Swiss skier said, as he explained how a night-time search party passed nearby while he fought against the soporific effect of the bitter cold.

"I kept on telling myself that I mustn't give up, that people loved me," he added from his hospital bed.

Swiss mountain rescuers hailed Mr Genoud's escape as a "miracle" after he was hit by the avalanche while skiing off-piste alone on Saturday, leaving rescuers in the southwestern canton of Valais with little idea where he was after his family raised the alarm.