Mountaineer who discovered treasure trove of precious gemstones from 1960s plane crash on Mont Blanc in 2013 lands a £127,000 share of the loot after failed eight-year bid to track down dead owner’s family

• A climber has received 150,000 euro share of a set of gems found on Mont Blanc
• Gems were concealed in a metal box onboard Indian plane that crashed in 1966
• The treasure trove, discovered in 2013, has been split between the climber and local authorities

A climber has received a six-figure share of a treasure trove of precious gems discovered on Mont Blanc – eight years after finding them on the mountain.

The collection of emeralds, rubies and sapphires buried for decades on a glacier on the French mountain has been shared between the climber who discovered them and local authorities.

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

A climber has received nearly a £128,000 share of a treasure trove of precious gems discovered on Mont Blanc – eight years after finding them on the mountain (file image of Mont Blanc) 

An attempt was made to uncover the family of the gems original owners, but the search proved unsuccessful. 

‘The stones have been shared this week’ in two equal lots valued at around 150,000 euros 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.

The collection of emeralds, rubies and sapphires buried for decades on a glacier on the French mountain has been shared between the climber who discovered them and local authorities (stock image of Mont Blanc)

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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