Tom Oye would have been buried alive if not for this remarkable device.
An Australian snowboarder living in Canada got the scare of his life when he was swept up in an avalanche — before he was saved by his inflatable backpack.
Read: The Terrifying Moment A Snowboarder Gets Caught In An Avalanche
Tom Oye's GoPro camera, which was attached to his helmet, captured the total panic as he was dragged down Whistler Mountain in the back country of Vancouver, British Columbia.
In the video, which he posted to Facebook, the ground gives way before a mechanical sound can be heard in the background.
It belonged to a device known as an avalanche airbag. It comes in a backpack and is activated by pulled a ripcord, as if it were a parachute. They range in price from $600 to $1,900.
The big orange airbag lifts the adventurer up and above the snow and reduces the chances of getting buried and suffocating. The devices are growing in popularity, particularly with risk-taking extreme skiers and snowboarders.
Read: Man Gets Ticket For Driving Car That Was Nearly Completely Covered in Snow
Luckily for Oye, his family gave him the avalanche backpack as a gift three weeks ago.
His video has been viewed more than 7 million times since it was posted Wednesday.
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