Father and brother see Jemima Prees die in ski crash

Published on 13/02/2013 00:10

A TEN-YEAR-OLD British girl has died after skiing into a tree while on a family holiday in the Austrian Alps.

Jemima Prees was killed after losing control at the popular Mayrhofen resort.

Witnesses said the girl was unable to stop after skiing into an off-piste area and hit a tree, suffering head and upper body injuries.

Her lawyer father Tim, 50, and her brother Barnaby, a university student, both witnessed the accident and attempted to administer first aid on the scene.

Witnesses say the girl’s mother Karen, 46, a GP, had returned to the bottom of the mountain by cable car, so she was not there to see the horrific accident.

Jemima, of Colerne, near Chippenham, Wiltshire, was flown to a hospital in Innsbruck by helicopter within minutes of Sunday’s accident, but later died.

Police in Mayrhofen said the family was on the last run of the day when the accident happened at the resort near Tirol.

A spokesman said: “After the girl lost control, she began to gain speed. She went faster and faster and sped over the edge of the piste and into the woods. She then hit the tree and was very badly hurt.

“Her father and brother were behind and they went after her immediately and saw the accident. The family gave her first aid and called the emergency services.”

However, their attempts to save her failed.