But his spokeswoman Sabine Kehm said: “Michael and the group had been skiing
on normal slopes. In between red and blue slopes there was an [off-piste]
area and they went into that.
“He helped a friend who had fallen and went into deep snow, hit a rock and was
catapulted into the air and landed head down. It was extreme bad luck, not
because he was at speed.”
Schumacher’s condition has stabilised after a “really big” internal bleed was
drained, easing the pressure on his brain.
Prof Jean-Francois Payen, chief anaesthetist at the hospital in Grenoble where
Schumacher is being treated, said a scan taken on Tuesday morning showed “a
few signs that the situation is better controlled than yesterday”.
He added: “We can’t say that he’s out of danger but we have gained time.”
A scan on Schumacher, who had surgery to remove a haematoma (a pocket of
blood) from the outside of his brain on Sunday, showed that another
haematoma inside his brain had “unexpectedly” reduced in size.
It meant surgeons were able to carry out a two-hour operation on Monday night
to drain the second blood clot and further reduce the pressure on the brain
after gaining the consent of his family.
Prof Payen said the 44-year-old German’s condition had “slightly improved” and
was “relatively stable”.
He added: “The more hours he spends in a stable situation, the better it is.”
Prof Emmanuel Gay, another of the specialists treating the seven-times Formula
1 champion, said: “The dangers are still there. We cannot say that we have
won because there are still some highs and some lows, but it’s better than
yesterday.
“He is still in a very critical condition, this has not changed. And we still
cannot tell how he will be, which state he will be in when he does wake up.
“We cannot speculate on the future because once again it would be too early to
do so.”
“There are still many haematomas in the brain, with little bits everywhere.
That is what makes the situation critical and it needs to be looked at hour
by hour, day by day.
“We won’t be able to evacuate the other haematomas at the moment because they
are not accessible. They are not as big as the one we removed yesterday.”
Schumacher remains in an artificial coma, with his body kept two to three
degrees below normal body temperature to reduce brain activity.
A source close to the investigation into his accident said the impact had been
so severe that Schumacher’s helmet split in two.
“He was skiing at full speed when he fell, and the helmet broke in two,” the
source said. “It could have been the impact, or there could have been a
problem with the helmet. He could easily have been going at 80 kilometres an
hour (50 mph).”
One emergency worker said: “When we got there, Schumacher’s helmet was broken
and we saw a lot of blood.”
Meanwhile Ms Kehm claimed a reporter dressed as a priest had tried to gain
access to his room, but was rumbled and escorted off the premises. A
hospital spokesman said they were “unaware” of the incident but added that
no-one would have been able to get into intensive care as security guards
are on duty there.