A very fortunate climber is being allowed to keep a trove of emeralds and sapphires he found while exploring Mont Blanc in 2013. The climber stumbled upon the precious stones and turned them over to the authorities. After the authorities failed to find the gems’ rightful owner, the climber was given half of the 150,000-euro he found.
The precious stones ended up in the mountains after being transported on the Air India Boeing 707, also called the “Kanchenjunga,” which crashed on Mont Blanc in 1966. Other debris from the crash, including a newspaper dating back to 1966 has been discovered as glaciers on the mountain melt to reveal their rich history.
The second half of the gems were turned over to the Chamonix-Mont-Blanc council which will put them on display in the Chamonix Crystal Museum.
