Utah Snowmobiler Buried in Avalanche Recalls Being Saved by Brother While on His 'Last Breath': 'Christmas Miracle'

Hunter and Braeden Hansen were hiking around Logan Canyon when an avalanche swept one of them under the snow, they told NBC

Brotherly love prevailed against an avalanche in Utah this week.

Snowmobiler Hunter Hansen was buried on Christmas Eve while hiking with his younger brother Braeden — who then came to Hunter's aid, NBC News reported.

The pair had been climbing to a higher meadow in Utah's Logan Canyon when the avalanche hit, according to NBC.

"I saw the snow ripple and knew that was an avalanche," Braeden said.

He had pulled ahead of his older sibling in the trek upwards and Hunter was taking his phone out to record his brother surpassing him when they noticed the snow crumbling down the slope.

Related: Avalanche Forecaster, 37, Dies After Triggering Snowslide While Skiing with Friend

According to the Utah Avalanche Center, the avalanche occurred at an elevation of roughly 8,400 feet, in an area with a "persistent weak layer" — which means the snow isn't strongly attached to the surrounding area — the center stated.

The sudden shift in conditions happened too fast, Hunter said, and he didn't have time to move out of the way before being covered.

As the pressure of more and more snow built, it felt like concrete on top of him, he said.

"It just washed me down the mountain, the most violent thing I've ever felt," Hunter told NBC. "Couldn't breathe, couldn't do anything. I slammed into a rock or a tree."

Braeden said that he "turned around to watch the slide hit Hunter and just watched him kind of get tumbled and buried and then lost sight of him."

Then Braeden sprang into action: He activated Hunter's beacon and the device allowed Braeden to locate his brother — nearly 150 yards from where he last saw Hunter.

The two also had radios. But, trapped underneath compacted snow, Hunter could only listen and not send messages himself.

Hunter recalled how he was "on his last breath" when he felt his brother begin digging toward him.

"I found him, I found him," Hunter recalled hearing through the radio.

Related: 2 Skiers Killed in Utah Avalanche, 1 Rescued After Digging Himself Out: 'Tragic Accident'

Braeden shoved the snow away from Hunter's head so he could remove his helmet and, once his brother could breathe again, Braeden worked to free the rest of Hunter's body.

According to the Colorado Avalanche Information Center, avalanches kill an average of 27 people each year.

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Hunter, who escaped with bruising and a possible fractured leg, returned to his wife and daughter for the holiday the next day. They called Hunter's survival a "Christmas miracle," he told NBC.

"You hear so many tragic stories of people getting buried in avalanches and not making it out," he said, "so I feel very blessed and lucky."