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| Dutch prince Johan Friso in coma after avalanche | Dutch prince Johan Friso in coma after avalanche |
| (40 minutes later) | |
| Dutch Prince Johan Friso, injured in an avalanche last week, is in a coma and may never regain consciousness, doctors treating him in Austria say. | Dutch Prince Johan Friso, injured in an avalanche last week, is in a coma and may never regain consciousness, doctors treating him in Austria say. |
| Prince Friso, who had been on a skiing holiday in the Austrian resort of Lech, lay buried under snow for about 15 minutes before being rescued. | Prince Friso, who had been on a skiing holiday in the Austrian resort of Lech, lay buried under snow for about 15 minutes before being rescued. |
| He was taken to hospital in Innsbruck after the accident, in which nobody else was hurt. | He was taken to hospital in Innsbruck after the accident, in which nobody else was hurt. |
| The prince, 43, is the second son of Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands. | The prince, 43, is the second son of Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands. |
| However, he is not in line for the throne since marrying in 2004 without the government's permission. | |
| Queen Beatrix and the prince's wife, Mabel, have been to visit him at Innsbruck's University Hospital. | |
| 'Heart attack' | |
| He had been skiing with between one and three other people off the marked pistes when the avalanche hit shortly after midday local time last Friday, said resort officials. | He had been skiing with between one and three other people off the marked pistes when the avalanche hit shortly after midday local time last Friday, said resort officials. |
| He was buried by an avalanche reportedly measuring about 30m (yds) wide by 40m long. | He was buried by an avalanche reportedly measuring about 30m (yds) wide by 40m long. |
| A beeper he was wearing allowed rescuers to locate him quickly. | A beeper he was wearing allowed rescuers to locate him quickly. |
| Speaking to reporters in Innsbruck, Dr Wolfgang Koller said it had taken nearly 50 minutes to revive the prince. | |
| MRI scans have shown his brain suffered "massive damage'' in the avalanche. | |
| The prince will be moved at a later date to a private clinic for further treatment but it may take years before he awakens, if ever, the doctor said. | |
| "We cannot say today with certainty whether Prince Friso will one day regain consciousness," added Dr Koller, who is head of the trauma unit at the hospital. | |
| "In any case, a neurological rehabilitation will be required that will take months, if not years." | |
| The doctor explained that the prince's brain had been deprived of oxygen due to the amount of time spent under the snow. | |
| "This resulted in a heart attack that lasted about 50 minutes.... | |
| "Fifty minutes of reanimation is very, very long, one might even say too long. | |
| "Our hope was that the patient's mild hypothermia would provide some protection for the brain. This hope was not realised." |