Michael Schumacher suffers head injury in skiing accident
Formula One legend Michael Schumacher is in a critical condition
in hospital after suffering a brain hemorrhage in a skiing accident
in France.
French television station BFMTV and local paper Le Dauphine Libere
reported on Sunday, local time, that the condition of the record
seven-times F1 champion had deteriorated from serious to
critical.
Grenoble University Hospital released a statement saying that the
former German champion had suffered a "severe head injury with
coma," and had undergone neurosurgery, Le Dauphine Libere
reported.
Jean-Marc Grenier, the director of care at Grenoble University
Hospital, said that Schumacher was admitted to the hospital in a
coma 12.40pm.
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''He suffered [on] his arrival a severe head injury with coma,
which required neurosurgical intervention immediately. He remains
in a critical situation,'' he said.
Schumacher's manager Sabine Kehm had earlier confirmed that
Schumacher sustained head injuries from the accident in the French
skiing resort of Meribel.
Kem said Schumacher was wearing a helmet and not alone at the time
of the incident.
Schumacher's 14-year-old son was skiing with his father when the
accident happened, the resort said.
The seven-time German world champion, who reportedly owns property
at the resort, was skiing off-piste with other skiers when the
crash occurred.
BFMTV said it had been informed by a medical source that
Schumacher suffered a brain hemorrhage when he fell and struck his
head on a rock.
Earlier, the French Mountain Gendarmerie said Schumacher was
wearing a helmet when he had a hard fall at the Meribel resort and
that he sustained a "relatively serious" head injury. At the time,
the gendarmerie said the 44-year-old's life was not in danger.
In a statement, the Meribel resort said Schumacher was conscious
when rescuers arrived on the scene. Schumacher was initially taken
to a local hospital and later transferred to a hospital in the city
of Grenoble for a fuller examination and a battery of tests.
Those tests were still ongoing, the resort said, adding that
orthopedic and trauma surgeon Gerard Saillant had travelled from
Paris to the Grenoble hospital to examine Schumacher.
German news agency DPA said it was Saillant who operated on
Schumacher when he broke his leg during a crash at the Silverstone
race course in 1999. In an email to The Associated Press,
Schumacher's manager Sabine Kehm said the retired driver was on a
private skiing trip and "fell on his head".
"We ask for understanding that we cannot give running updates on
his condition. He wore a helmet and was not alone," Kehm said.
Formula One fans reportedly have gathered outside the hospital in
Grenoble, while Formula One drivers are posting their well-wishes
on Twitter.
In addition to the crash at Silverstone, Schumacher was hurt
seriously in a motorcycling accident in February 2009 in Spain when
he suffered neck and spine injuries. He recovered sufficiently from
those injuries to make a comeback in F1.
The resort said he was skiing off-piste when he fell and hit his
head on a rock. "He was shocked, a little rattled but conscious,"
Christophe Gernigon-Lecomte, the director of tourism at Meribel,
said in a statement.
Schumacher retired in 2006 after winning five straight titles with
Ferrari following two earlier ones with Benetton. He came back to
the sport in 2010 and drove for three seasons for Mercedes without
much success before retiring again last year.
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