(Reuters) – A 19-year-old American skier survived 48 hours half-buried in snow in the Swiss Alps before being rescued and taken to hospital where he is recovering, police said on Wednesday.

The man, a student in Lausanne, disappeared while skiing in the Les Diablerets resort on Sunday, but was only reported missing on Tuesday, Vaud cantonal police said in a statement.

Rescue workers and a helicopter found him that afternoon, conscious but in a state of hypothermia and exhaustion and “stuck up to the waist in thick snow” in freezing temperatures, it said.

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