A BRITISH student was seriously injured in a terrifying high-speed crash after smashing into a tree as he rode a sledge down a mountain at night in Austria.

The 19-year-old-old alongside five friends hurtled down a slope as the the sledge ran out of control when a frost formed an icy crust on the snow at Mittelberg.

Rescuers told local media the teen was unconscious and unresponsive when they got to him after the midnight crash.

The student, not named due to local privacy laws, was flown by helicopter to a hospital in Kempten.

A team of 25 rescuers from Mittelberg-Hirschegg Mountain Rescue Service and the Mittelberg fire brigade had been involved in finding the crash site.

It is unclear how badly injured the other five crash victims were.

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The region is known for its ski resorts and pristine Alpine scenery, with Mittelberg located at 3,937 feet.

Back in September, a British climber plunged more than 300ft to his death as he was climbing Austria’s Dachstein Mountains.

Malcolm McDonald, 42,  who had travelled to the range near Salzburg to tackle the Via ferrata Donnerkogel hike was found dead after falling from the famous “stairway to heaven” ladder.

The iron path, popular with Instagrammers has more than 3500 posts tagged.

In 2020, an extreme athlete was pictured balancing on the ladder with no harness.

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