This is the moment a daredevil snowboarder falls over as an avalanche rolls down the hill and is buried under several feet of thick snow and needs rescuing.

The rescue took place at a ski resort near the city of Sochi in the southern Russian region of Krasnodar Krai.

According to the news site Kuban, a group of freeriding snowboarders set off down the slope despite avalanche warnings from resort guards.

Due to bad weather, a storm warning was in effect at the resort with a risk of avalanches at altitudes of 500 metres above sea level and higher.

Undeterred, the group of freeriders took to the slope in pairs. However, one of them fell as an avalanche rolled down the hillside, completely burying him in thick snow.

In the footage filmed by a group member wearing a helmet-camera, the snowboarder is seen falling over just as the avalanche passes over him and comes to rest at the bottom of the slope.

The man sticks out his hand through the snow to alert colleagues where he is buried.

The cameraperson says: “Yes, yes, Marat, I’m here. Do not be afraid, everything is all right.”

He grabs the man’s hand to let him know he is there, and then starts to dig away the snow until his friend’s face is uncovered and he can breathe.

According to eyewitnesses, the snowboarder was safely pulled out of the snow and was fine within a few minutes, adding that the group returned to their hotel shortly after the incident.