Tourists ventured off the designated paths to ski in the backcountry, triggering a small avalanche that buried four fellow snow enthusiasts in northwest China.
The video was filmed in Altay Prefecture in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region on February 13.
Thanks to a swift emergency response, there were no fatalities or injuries.
Mr. Wu Yihao, one of the snow enthusiasts involved in the rescue, initially didn't notice anyone buried. However, he then saw a hand waving through the snow and immediately rushed to help. After digging out a woman's head and confirming she could breathe and move without issues, Wu's attention was drawn to a small, further collapsing hole nearby.
Suspecting someone was trapped underneath, Wu dug about half a metre before uncovering another girl's face. He encouraged her to breathe, noting she was heavily buried and had likely been in a low-oxygen environment for some time.
Wu and others quickly removed the snow from the girl. In the meantime, a rescue call had been made, and the team arrived in less than five minutes.
Four snow enthusiasts were buried; two were lying on top of the snow, relatively safe. The other two, whom Wu and others worked together to extricate, also emerged without life-threatening conditions and recovered well.
The video was provided by local media with permission.
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