British woman, 23, plunges 15 feet off ski path into Bulgarian ravine – as terrified friends pull her from the water

A British tourist is fighting for her life after a horror skiing accident while on holiday in Bulgaria.

Olivia Corbiere, 23, was put into a medically induced coma after falling 15 feet from a ski trail into a huge ravine in the southwestern town of Bansko.

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The young Brit had just celebrated her birthday last Tuesday and flew to the Chalin Valog resort on Friday with her friends and her sister Phoebe, 19.

Olivia, an experienced skier, was rushed to the Bulgarian capital Sofia on Sunday afternoon after her terrified friends pulled her from the water.

Doctord placed her in an induced coma after she suffered horrific injuries, including a broken pelvis, three broken vertebrae, a broken eye socket and a broken nose.

This afternoon she reportedly underwent a four-hour emergency operation where doctors removed part of her skull to stop the bleeding in her brain.

Olivia’s mother Linzi, 46, left Aston, near Rotherham, South Yorkshire, on Monday morning after hearing the horror news.

The heartbroken mother said surgeons told her they had “never” seen such a head wound. the mail reported.

Linzi, a signalman for the East Midlands Railway, said: ‘Olivia has just come out of the operating theater and the surgeon says they have never seen a head wound like this.

‘The next few hours are crucial and they are going to wake her up tomorrow.

‘They are very strict in Bulgaria and we cannot sit at the bedside or visit.

“But they allowed me to see her yesterday and I was able to talk to her and tell her that we are here for her.

“Her eyelashes fluttered, so I know she heard me.”

Linzi is currently staying at a nearby hotel and uses translators from the ski resort.

She added: ‘She is not paralyzed, they assured us, because she was moving her limbs too much.

‘That’s why they had to put her in an induced coma. We’ll just have to wait and see if they let me be there when they wake her up tomorrow.

“I left yesterday morning and my husband left last night.

“The girls were great, they shopped for us and made sure we had the things we needed.

“We just threw a few things in a suitcase and flew out, we didn’t really know what to pack.

“I’m just in a hotel, I need a translator to help me and we need to translate all the medical records into English for the insurance company.”

Olivia’s dad Seb, 51, flew out last night to be with his family while his eldest daughter heals, and their son Morgan, 22, is also said to be heading to Bulgaria.

A fundraising campaign has been set up to help Linzi and her family with travel, accommodation and other expenses.

More than £13,000 has been contributed since the plea was launched on Monday, but more is needed to help Olivia recover.

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