A BRITISH toddler stopped breathing after he was crushed by a giant snowman at a luxury ski resort in Austria.
Three-year-old Louis Kindal's parents watched in horror as the youngster was engulfed by the 10ft high snowman. The youngster was placed in a coma after being flown to hospital in nearby Innsbruck with his mum, Michelle, from Chorleywood, Herts, by air ambulance. His desperate dad Yves Kindal, 31, told how he clawed at the snow with his bare hands to pull his son free at the Leutasch ski resort in the Tyrol.
He said: "I ran over straight away and my only thought was to get my son out as soon as possible. "But the snow was like concrete. I was ripping and tearing at the snow and my hands were bleeding but I didn't care." He added: "By the time I pulled him out from under the snowman he had turned blue and was no longer breathing. We had to perform artificial respiration to get him breathing again."
This morning hospital medics said Louis was out of danger and has now been moved from intensive care to a normal children's ward. He said: "We are used to responding quickly here to winter sports accidents. Rapid transport of the patient and fast treatment have ensured a quick recovery. "The child is now out of danger and we anticipate he will soon be able to leave the ward."
The family had arrived in the resort from the UK only minutes earlier and were waiting outside their hotel when the accident happened. A local artist had constructed the snowman for a resort festival and today police launched an inquiry into why it collapsed.
Cops are consulting prosecutors over possible criminal charges. Inspector Johannes Adentung said: "A report is being prepared for prosecutors who will decide how to proceed. "There were a number of other snow sculptures in the area and in order to ensure the safety of the public these have now been dismantled."
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