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Chamonix snowboarder Emily Watts critically injured | |
(about 5 hours later) | |
A British woman, critically ill after a snowboarding accident in the French Alps, is unlikely to survive, her family have said. | |
Emily Watts, 26, from Lavenham, Suffolk, was taken to hospital on Saturday after the crash near Chamonix. | Emily Watts, 26, from Lavenham, Suffolk, was taken to hospital on Saturday after the crash near Chamonix. |
Ms Watts' aunt Shona Pollock said the family were "consumed with grief" as it was clear she was unlikely to recover. | |
The Foreign Office said it was assisting Ms Watts' family, who have travelled to be with her in hospital. | |
Her parents, Nicky and Dominic, and brother Rory, 27, have flown to France to be by her bedside. | |
Ms Watts remains on a life-support machine. | |
Known as Mimi, she fell headfirst into a snowdrift and was stuck for about 45 minutes following the fall, in the Grand Montets skiing area. | |
'Starved of oxygen' | |
By the time emergency crews arrived, she had suffered a cardiac arrest, prompting fears of brain damage. | |
Ms Pollock said: "She's on a life support machine but it won't be for long. I have a religious friend who said there is still hope but I don't believe there is. | |
"Her brain was starved of oxygen for about 45 minutes. | |
"It's so sad. Mimi is a fabulous, outgoing character, plucky, and someone who loved the mountains. | |
"She is adored by her brother. She's just a thoroughly positive, optimistic, lovely girl. | |
"It was just an unusual, unlucky, tragic accident and no-one really knows what happened." | "It was just an unusual, unlucky, tragic accident and no-one really knows what happened." |
French police were unable to notify the family for a day as Miss Watts was not wearing any identification, Ms Pollock said. | |
The design student was reportedly taken to hospital in nearby Annecy, before being transferred to a specialist unit. It is believed no-one else was involved in the accident. | |
The experienced snowboarder had been in France for a few weeks and was working at the resort, her aunt said. |
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