Skier Marcel Hirscher almost hit by crashing drone as he hurtles down slalom run

This is the dramatic moment a champion Alpine skier narrowly escaped disaster when a large remote controlled drone crashed inches away as he hurtled down a slalom run.

The unmanned aerial vehicle, which was operated by a broadcast television crew, fell out of the sky onto the snowy slope in Italy and disintegrated just behind Marcel Hirscher.

The 26-year-old Austrian appeared not to notice and continued his run at Madonna di Campiglio, in the Dolomites.

“This is horrible, said Hirscher, a 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics silver medallist. “This can never happen again. This can be a serious injury.”

He later posted an image of the incident on Instagram, captioned: “Heavy air traffic in Italy”, and hashtagged: “#luckyme”.

Hirscher, who has won the World Cup title for the past four seasons, was runner-up yesterday (TUES) night, 1.25 seconds behind the winner, Norwegian Henrik Kristoffersen.

Despite the crash - which sparked a drone ban at future World cup events - Hirscher’s performance in other disciplines means he still tops the overall Alpine Skiing World Cup leader board.

Markus Waldner, International Ski Federation racing director, said: “The use of drones at great events in Austria and Switzerland is forbidden.

“But it is allowed in Italy.

“That’s why we agreed with (broadcasters)... that drones are not to fly above the raceway, but only above a corridor besides the spectators. I am sorry.

“What happened is a total mess and there will be consequences. Drones won’t be used in the future.”

In Britain, the government is considering regulating drones after an increase in the number flown close to planes taking off and landing at airports.