Video shows moment hiker survives Kyrgyzstan avalanche during guided tour

A tourist on the trip of a lifetime has filmed the terrifying moment he and a group of hikers were swallowed by a freak avalanche.

A British tourist and a group of nine other hikers are lucky to walk away with just a few cuts and bruises after being engulfed by a massive avalanche while trekking in the Tian Shan mountains in Kyrgyzstan.

Footage of the avalanche taken by 27-year-old Harry Shimmin quickly went viral once it was uploaded to Instagram, with the minute-long clip showing the snow and ice bellowing down the mountain straight towards the hiking group.

In a caption alongside the video, Mr Shimmin explained he was on a 10-day hike when the terrifying incident happened. Having just reached the highest point of the trek, the young adventurer became separated from the group to take pictures of the landscape from the cliff edge.

“While I was taking pictures I heard the sound of deep ice cracking behind me. This is where the video starts. I’d been there for a few minutes already so I knew there was a spot for shelter right next to me,” he wrote on the post.

Harry Shimmin heard a crack before the avalanche started. Picture: Harry Shimmin/Viralhog

The ice and snow fell down the mountain towards him and the hiking group. Picture: Harry Shimmin/Viralhog

Mr Shimmin explained during the avalanche he remained on the cliff edge, but didn’t think the rubble would actually reach him.

“I left it to the last second to move, and yes I know it would have been safer moving to the shelter straight away,” he wrote.

“I’m very aware that I took a big risk. I felt in control, but regardless, when the snow started coming over and it got dark/harder to breath, I was bricking it and thought I might die.”

Speaking to news.com.au, Mr Shimmin explained that throughout the terrifying ordeal, he kept calm and in control.

“When it was coming towards me, I was thinking about a few things,” he said.

“Initially, I was focusing on trying to get a good video. I wasn’t really expecting it to get as close as it did, but when it came over the first hill I knew that there was nowhere to run because I was on the edge of a cliff, and that moving from where I was would be more dangerous.

“When it came over the second hill was when I knew I’d need to use the cover right next to me.

At first, Mr Shimmin didn’t think the avalanche would get as close to him as it did. Picture: Harry Shimmin/Viralhog

The avalanche swept over the group, leaving just two with injuries. Picture: Harry Shimmin/Viralhog

“Embarrassingly one of the main thoughts in my head was something like, ‘I hate when people can’t film avalanches properly, I’m going to show them how it’s done,’ which is when I decided to take the big risk of moving so late!”

Mr Shimmin, who holds the Guinness World Record for the most backflips in a sky dive, said being behind the rock felt like sitting inside a blizzard.

“Once it was over, the adrenaline rush hit me hard. I was only covered in light powder, without a scratch,” he said.

“Two people were injured, one hospitalised with a deep cut on her knee, and the other fell off a horse and sustained some heavy bruising.

Mr Shimmin said he and the group were lucky to be alive following the avalanche.

Harry filmed the terrifying avalanche while on the tour.

“But other than that, everyone was fine! All of the party were behind the hill/cliff edge I stood on.”

The young adventurer said his guides had never seen an avalanche like it, and the group shed a few tears once safe again because everyone was “happy to be alive”.

“It was only later we realised just how lucky we’d been. If we had walked five minutes further on our trek, we would all be dead,” he said.

The terrifying video comes just days after a chunk of ice detached from a melting glacier and sent a torrent of rock and debris on hikers below, killing 11 as they explored the Marmolada glacier in Italy’s Dolomite Mountains.