Formula 1 - Schumacher fights for life after skiing accident

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     OOJ  - Michael Schumacher

Michael Schumacher is in a "critical condition" after suffering a serious brain injury in a skiing accident in the French Alps resort of Meribel on Sunday, according to the French hospital at which he is being treated.

The hospital in Grenoble said Schumacher had suffered severe head injuries and a coma, just hours after initial reports had suggested his injuries were not life threatening.

“He suffered a head trauma with coma, which required immediate neurosurgical treatment”, Schumacher's agent said in a statement late in the evening, which a hospital official read to reporters. “He remains in critical condition”.

A hospital official declined to give more details but said more information would be given out on Monday.

The seven-time world champion, who was wearing a helmet, suffered a possible head trauma when he hit a rock.

He was taken to hospital by helicopter, but a spokesman for the ski resort had said his injuries were "not very serious".

However, Schumacher was then transferred to Grenoble because his injury was regarded as being more serious than previously thought.

Professor Gerard Saillant, an expert in brain and spine injury and a close friend of Schumacher's, arrived at the hospital on Sunday evening. Saillant treated Schumacher following a big crash at Silverstone in 1999 which left the German with a broken leg.

Meribel director Christophe Gernignon-Lecomte had earlier told RMC radio Schumacher's injuries had been slight, saying: "He fell at 11:07am (CET) while skiing off-piste at Meribel. He was wearing a helmet and banged against a rock.

"Emergency services intervened quickly, at 11:15am. He was airlifted to hospital at Moûtiers (about 15km) away. He was shocked, a bit shaken up but conscious. There's maybe a concussion but it's not very serious."

Police are investigating the cause of the accident, with Europe 1 radio reporting that the German was skiing alone.

Schumacher's spokeswoman, Sabine Kehm, told Bild: "Michael fell on his head during a private ski trip in the French Alps. He was taken to hospital and is receiving medical care."

The 44-year-old Schumacher retired from F1 in October 2012, two years after having returned to competition.

File photo of Schumacher on a prior skiing trip.