French climber pockets Mont Blanc gems after 2013 find


Three climbers walk at an altitude of 3400 metres on September 11, 2013 near the Dent du Géant (Giant's tooth), in the Mont Blanc massif in France and Italy (AFP/Jean-Pierre Clatot)


Sat, December 4, 2021

A treasure trove of emeralds, rubies and sapphires buried for decades on a glacier off France's Mont Blanc has finally been shared between the climber who discovered them and local authorities, eight years after they were found.

The mountaineer stumbled across the precious stones in 2013. They had remained hidden in a metal box that was on board an Indian plane that crashed in the desolate landscape some 50 years earlier.

"The stones have been shared this week" in two equal lots valued at around 150,000 euros ($169,000) each, Chamonix mayor Eric Fournier told AFP.

He said he was "very happy" that events had been brought to a conclusion, in particular for the climber who he praised for his "integrity" in turning his find in to police as required by law.

Two Air India planes crashed into Mont Blanc in 1950 and in 1966.

Over the years, climbers have routinely found debris, baggage and human remains from the aircraft.

In September 2012, India took possession of a bag of diplomatic mail from the Kangchenjunga, a Boeing 707 flying from Mumbai which crashed on the southwest face of Mont Blanc on January 24, 1966.

The crash killed 117 people including the pioneer of India's nuclear programme, Homi Jehangir Bhabha.

Authorities believe the precious stones are likely to have come from that flight which had been en route from Mumbai to New York.

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