Honesty has its reward as mountaineer pockets share of Mont Blanc jewels from Air India crash

A mountaineer who came across a metal chest of emeralds, rubies and sapphires on Mont Blanc, believed to have been lost on an Air India flight that crashed more than half a century ago has been able to pocket his share of the treasure trove.

The remainder of the haul discovered under the desolate Bossons Glacier has gone to local authorities. Eric Fournier who was scaling a glacier found the stones buried under ice in 2013 on Europe’s highest peak and handed them into the police.

Under French law, as no owner was located, the finder was entitled to a half share with the rest going to the state.