Mont Blanc Climber Finds Chest Of Jewels

A French climber has uncovered a treasure trove of jewels worth €246,000 (£207,000) while climbing a glacier off Mont Blanc in the Alps.

A box of emeralds, rubies and sapphires were discovered inside the wreckage of a plane that crashed into the mountain half a century ago.

French police praised the climber’s honesty after he immediately reported the haul.

"This was an honest young man who very quickly realised that they belonged to someone who died on the glacier," said local gendarmerie chief Sylvain Merly.

"He could have kept them, but he preferred to give them to the police."

Police said the jewels were found earlier this month in a tin, about the size of a shoe box, and several were inside small bags labelled "Made in India".

French authorities are in the process of contacting their Indian counterparts to determine the jewels' rightful owners.

If unclaimed, the climber could inherit the jewellery in accordance with French law.

Two Air India planes crashed into Mont Blanc in 1950 and 1966, and climbers frequently find debris and other remains from the aircraft.

Last year the Indian government claimed a bag of diplomatic mail found near the wreckage of the Boeing 707 Malabar Princess that crashed on the southwest face of the mountain on January 24, 1966.

Gendarmerie chief Merly said: "Things come up from the glaciers. They're always moving."