Hiker buried in avalanche with only one free arm spotted saluting by rescue helicopter

A missing hiker was filmed by a member of the rescue team aboard a helicopter as they spotted him desperately trying to wave to them with his only free arm after being buried in an avalanche in Switzerland

A rescue helicopter was able to locate the missing hiker in the snow (

Image: Air-Glaciers – Mathieu Lambert / SWNS)

A missing hiker buried in snow has been filmed during a dramatic rescue where he was able to greet a helicopter with only his head and one arm free.

The footage, filmed by paramedic Mathieu Lambert, shows the man desperately flailing his only free limb as the helicopter lit up the mountain on February 8.

Only a faint image was visible, but luckily the eagle-eyed rescue team focused on something moving in the snow which turned out to be the hiker's arm.

The young man, who has not been named, was ski touring in the Lidairdes region of Switzerland when an avalanche struck.

His family alerted the emergency services when he did not return in time.

The hiker had been caught in an avalanche in Switzerland (

Picture:

Air-Glaciers – Mathieu Lambert / SWNS)

Air Glaciers, a rescue and transportation company, received the alert at 5:41 p.m. and dispatched a helicopter with a paramedic and two rescue guides.

The team first checked the parking lot where the man had started his journey to make sure he had not returned to his car.

They then began to fly over the route he had provided for his family.

The team eventually located visible tracks and dropped off one of the guides to trace them.