All Knew Skiing Risks Off-Trail, Charles Says

Prince Charles today said he and others in his party knew the risks of skiing off marked trails before an avalanche killed a companion and injured another in a “whirling maelstrom.”

In a statement read to reporters shortly before the royal party left Zurich airport for London, Prince Charles said:

“I would like to emphasize that all members of my party, including myself, were skiing off the (trail) at our own risk and we all accepted . . . that the mountains have to be treated with the greatest respect and not treated lightly.”

The handwritten statement, read by a press spokesman, also described Thursday’s tragedy in the mountains near the alpine resort of Klosters.

The snow slide missed the prince but killed a close friend, army Maj. Hugh Lindsay, 34. Another friend, Patricia Palmer-Tomkinson, was knocked unconscious and suffered fractures of both legs.

Escaped From Path

“When the avalanche started, with a tremendous roaring, Bruno Sprechter (a guide), Charles Palmer-Tomkinson, the Swiss policeman and myself all managed by a great good fortune to ski to one side.

“To my horror, Maj. Hugh Lindsay and Mrs. Palmer-Tomkinson just failed to ski clear and were swept away in a whirling maelstrom as the whole mountainside seemed to hurtle past us to the valley below,” the prince said.

“It was all over in a terrifying matter of seconds,” he concluded.

Charles, his wife, Diana, and their sister-in-law, the Duchess of York, arrived in London this afternoon aboard a Queen’s Flight aircraft after a 1 1/2-hour flight from Zurich. The plane carried Lindsay’s coffin.

Earlier today, a doctor said Charles’ quick rescue efforts helped save the life of Mrs. Palmer-Tomkinson, who was buried under the snowslide with Lindsay.

Elsa Rauch, a doctor who was flown to the scene, said Charles and others dug out Mrs. Palmer-Tomkinson.

“They were so fast that they dug her out in a few minutes and I would say they saved her life,” she told the BBC. “He (Charles) helped to dig her out with his own hands. He was very controlled. He talked to the lady.”