British Snowboarder Saved by Phone Safety Feature in Crevasse Fall

2nd April 2022

Last modified on April 4th, 2022

41-year old Tim Blakey was riding on his own in a glacier in Saas Fee when he fell into a crevasse. He used an SOS feature on his iPhone to alert the rescue services.

He fell 5m into a crevasse and the fall was stopped by a snow bridge in the crevasse.

His phone only had 3% of battery life but he remembered that the iPhone has a safety device where if you turn it on and off five times the the emergency services are alerted.

It shows them the location and that the person is in danger.

Rescue volunteer, Michael Schwarzl, received the text with Tim Blakey’s location.

“I had a battery booster in my backpack and had to move very, very carefully to get it off and get it out,” said Tim Blakey

“I had a 3G connection down there but needed it on long enough for them to locate me. It was 20 minutes before I got hold of the emergency services and they told me not to move.”

He was pulled out of the crevasse and taken by helicopter to hospital where he was treated for an injured ankle and released.