Without news from a hiker since Wednesday

Yesterday hope came from the sky. Transported by helicopter from Psig Muret (Haute-Garonne), a highly specialized canine team,reinforced the fifteen policeman combing the terrain in search of a hiker missing since Wednesday at noon. That day, the PGHM based in Chamonix, received a call from the hiker from a mobile phone. He complained of a leg injury, according to the gendarmes he suffers from neurological disorders. Immediately, the PGHM tried to locate the call, keeping the man on the line. Soon, it was located on the telephone relay of the Tour, but nothing more. On the ground, the teams evolved, first by helicopter and on the ground Thursday and Friday, were unable to locate the man. "This is a huge sector of nine km in radius in the mountains, which must be searched, which is very vast" explained the captain. On Thursday, the man was identified as Claude Bivord, a Belgian of 77 years. According to his friends, he had a secondary residence Chamonix (he's currently housed with friends) and fond of skiing and hiking, which he practiced for a long time. Moreover, the man was a doctor, which may leave an additional hope as to its survival in the Aiguilles Rouges, where he is actively sought. Thursday afternoon, a violent storm hit the Mont-Blanc, forcing rescuers to suspend their research and unfortunately, making the chances of survival lower if hiker is injured and without shelter. They resumed yesterday, with 15 policemen and assistance of the dog breed Saint-Hubert, de Muret, specialized in tracking victims. CALL FOR WITNESSES The PGHM search any person's testimony that may have crossed Mr. Bivord on the sectors of Vallorcine, Argentière, the Posettes or Emosson. He was wearing shorts and a beige shirt. Contact PHGM 05 50 53 16 89. A climber in a crevasse Yesterday about 6 pm, the PGHM was called by a mountaineer. The latter asked for help, his climbing companion fell into a crevasse in the glacier du Milieu (Argentière sector of the Mont-Blanc). Immediately, the helicopter of the Civil Security took off with the "first to walk." Left on the ground, the military could not intervene because of the bad weather that was raging on the mountains, and had to wait for an improvement to pursuit the rescue. No news until now. Le Dauphiné July 25th, 2009