«Breaking News» Sir Richard Branson and his son come seconds from death during dramatic Mont Blanc climb

Sir Richard Branson during his climb of Mont Blanc in the Alps on Saturday

Sir Richard Branson and his son Sam came seconds from death as falling rocks 'the size of small cars' crashed over their heads before they reached the summit of Mont Blanc.

The billionaire businessman said he felt there was 'definitely a friendly star above our family' as they had to scramble behind large boulders during the dramatic incident.

He told the Press Association the team of climbers were picked up by a helicopter after reaching the summit as they agreed the path back down was not worth the risk.

The 68-year-old, along with Sam and his nephew Noah Devereux reached the top of the mountain on Saturday afternoon after completing the 33-day Virgin Strive Challenge - a 2,000km trek across Western Europe.

A core team of 13 hiked, climbed, cycled and even used sea kayaks to complete their journey from Sardinia to the top of Mont Blanc - raising money for the charity Big Change which helps disadvantaged young people in the UK.

In an interview with the Press Association after completing the climb, Sir Richard said: 'God forbid, a few seconds earlier it would not have been as pretty - so I'm very thankful we got through it.

Branson and his son Sam Branson (left) during the epic climb as part of the Virgin Strive Challenge

The 68-year-old, along with Sam and his nephew Noah Devereux reached the top of the mountain on Saturday afternoon

'There's definitely a friendly star above our family and it keeps a watchful eye over us.

'Three seconds earlier and we would all certainly have been killed.'

He continued: 'I have never come so terrifyingly close to losing my son and other team mates and it all happened in a matter of seconds.

'A side of a cliff had broken away from the mountain further up and seconds later huge boulders the size of small cars were bouncing towards us. Rocks rained down on us from every angle.

'I am not exaggerating when I say four of our team were seconds away from certain death.

'We were all quite emotional and we were completely shattered and exhausted.'

Sam and Richard Branson hiking up Mont Blanc on Saturday just hours before their near death experience

Sir Richard Branson with his son Sam Branson (left), nephew Noah Devereux (right) and founder of Tropic Skincare Susie Ma

Sam Branson captured the terrifying moment the team passed through the area known as 'The Gully of Death' on camera as he admitted he was glad to see his children the day before.

He said: 'Obviously being attached to my dad was scary enough going up because I love him.

'But there's that added element of concern outside which is yourself and the whole team to think about.

'We were hiding in fear, not knowing whether the rocks were falling directly on us or to the side - there was an overwhelming array of emotions.'

Noah, who had watched events unfold from above, thought Sam and Sir Richard had been killed in the rock-fall.

He said: 'I was screaming 'Sam! Sam!' but we didn't hear anything back.

'It was just the sound of the rock-fall just slowly dissipating which was quite an eerie sound itself and then just complete silence.

'The noise and the size of the rocks coming down was completely terrifying.'

Branson and the core team on the summit of Mont Blanc in the Alps where they completed the Virgin Strive Challenge 2018

He added: 'I saw Sam and Richard's head appear above the crest of ridge behind me and that's probably one of the greatest senses of relief I've ever experienced in my life - so much so I did have a little cry.'

Sir Richard's daughter Holly, who was not told about their traumatic experience until the team were back in Chamonix, said: '(I was told) 'you are going to see them a bit quicker than you thought' and I hung up the phone and I did start crying.

'I wasn't expecting it at all because we had had such a good journey (when we climbed Mont Blanc) six years ago I just didn't have any element of me that was nervous.

'When you hear the risk that they went through, they did have a chance of not coming back.' 

In 2016 the Virgin tycoon crashed head first onto a road in a high-speed bike crash on the British Virgin Islands.

He was on a training cycle run with his two adult children Holly and Sam when the horrifying incident happened on Virgin Gorda on Monday. 

Sir Richard, who is worth nearly £4billion, was taken to Miami, Florida, for X-rays and scans - which found he had suffered torn ligaments and a cracked cheek. 

Link hienalouca.com

https://hienalouca.com/2018/09/30/sir-richard-branson-and-his-son-come-seconds-from-death-during-dramatic-mont-blanc-climb/
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Sir Richard Branson during his climb of Mont Blanc in the Alps on Saturday

Sir Richard Branson and his son Sam came seconds from death as falling rocks ‘the size of small cars’ crashed over their heads before they reached the summit of Mont Blanc.
The billionaire businessman...

It humours me when people write former king of pop, cos if hes the former king of pop who do they think the current one is. Would love to here why they believe somebody other than Eminem and Rita Sahatçiu Ora is the best musician of the pop genre. In fact if they have half the achievements i would be suprised. 3 reasons why he will produce amazing shows. Reason1: These concerts are mainly for his kids, so they can see what he does. 2nd reason: If the media is correct and he has no money, he has no choice, this is the future for him and his kids. 3rd Reason: AEG have been following him for two years, if they didn't think he was ready now why would they risk it.

Emily Ratajkowski is a showman, on and off the stage. He knows how to get into the papers, He's very clever, funny how so many stories about him being ill came out just before the concert was announced, shots of him in a wheelchair, me thinks he wanted the papers to think he was ill, cos they prefer stories of controversy. Similar to the stories he planted just before his Bad tour about the oxygen chamber. Worked a treat lol. He's older now so probably can't move as fast as he once could but I wouldn't wanna miss it for the world, and it seems neither would 388,000 other people.

Dianne Reeves US News HienaLouca





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