By Louisa Cleave and Bronwyn Sell
Wellington student John Hall tried desperately to relax as he was swept down about six waterfalls and pounded against rocks in the Swiss Alps flash flood.
Gasping for air whenever he surfaced, the 22-year-old knew his best chance was to make his body go limp and
let the current sweep him to safety.
And his luck held, though it was a rough ride. He landed on rocks and was pulled unconscious from the river.
Doctors suspected he had broken his back in the accident, but by last night it seemed he had escaped with severe bruising.
Mr Hall, who was starting a working holiday, was abseiling down a canyon into the river when the sudden torrent struck.
He spoke to his parents from a hospital bed in Switzerland yesterday, and his mother, Ann Hall, later told the New Zealand Herald: "It was raining and a wall of water came down and swept them away.
"He tumbled through the water, bumping his head. He said he felt his back break as he went down six waterfalls."
Terry Hall, his father, said John was still in pain and shock last night, and was upset to hear his new-found friend John Roe, from Auckland, was feared drowned.
"It's good news in our case, but we feel for the families who are probably just now hearing bad news."
John Hall has ridden his luck over his 22 years. He was injured last year when a car in which he was a passenger rolled eight times in the South Island, and he was swept down the Shotover River when white-water rafting at the age of 14.
Mrs Hall said the Contiki Tour was due to finish on Saturday and was the first part of a six-month working holiday for her son.
He planned to spend three months working on a psychiatric research project in England before returning to finish his law degree.
