Story By: Koen Berghuis, Sub Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: CEN

These pictures show rescue crews battling to save a 22-year-old tourist who plunged into a tiny glacier crevasse while skiing at 10,761 feet on a family holiday in the Alps.

The accident happened when a Spanish holidaymaker fell into a deep glacier fracture while making his way to the top of the 12,028-foot-high Grossvenediger Peak in the mountainous Austrian state of Tyrol.

The man, who had travelled with a group of seven Spanish tourists and was skiing with his dad at the time, tried to cross the Schlatenkees Glacier, an area known for its many deep crevasses, some of which can be hidden by the snow.

Pictures Credit: CEN/Bergrettung Praegraten

At an altitude of 10,761 feet, the Spaniard, who was not secured by emergency ropes, fell into a deep crevasse.

He fell down the fracture until he reached a narrow point where his body became lodged and he was unable to move.

As his father could not reach him, they had no choice but to call the emergency services and a mountain rescue team from Praegraten am Grossvenediger immediately sprung into action.

They boarded a police helicopter and flew to the glacier accompanied by medical personnel in a second chopper.

Fortunately, rescue workers were able to pull the Spanish skier out of the crevasse. The helicopter immediately flew him down to the valley where he was transferred to hospital.

A police spokesman said: “The man was suffering from severe hypothermia and was admitted to a hospital in Lienz.”

There have been no further updates on the tourist’s condition.