News Health & Medicine

Volunteers agreed to be buried face-down in the snow, for science

A safety device kept up oxygen levels, tests showed. It may improve avalanche survival

An avalanche rescuer and a rescue dog help pull a person out of a deep pile of snow for a training exercise.

Avalanche rescuers take part in a training exercise at a ski resort in the French Alps in 2025. A clinical trial of a safety device, which channels oxygen to a buried person’s face, suggests it may improve survival.

OLIVIER CHASSIGNOLE/AFP/getty images

By Aimee Cunningham

Read another version of this article at Science News Explores

When a person is trapped in an avalanche, there is very little time before their oxygen supply runs out.