It seems a radio antenna and a Marsh Lake resident are to thank for saving the life of a mineral exploration worker around the Mayo area last month.

Trevor Smith is the Marsh Lake resident who rescued the man who was buried in an avalanche.

The incident only came to light Monday.

Exploration workers like Smith and the other man were being dropped off by helicopter in the area. An avalanche occurred below where Smith was working, he said in an interview Monday afternoon.

The helicopter came back around, picking up Smith.

Flying over the avalanche area, Smith and the pilot saw what had happened and noticed an axe sticking out of the snow.

Smith had the pilot drop him off nearby and he walked toward the axe, which appeared to have unsuccessfully been used by the man to get out of the snow. The pilot, meanwhile, went to get more help.

"I figured he was probably dead,” Smith said, adding that he then noticed a radio antenna protruding from the snow nearby.

As he dug down further, he noticed a blue hand was attached to the radio.

"He was under four feet of snow,” Smith said of the man buried under the avalanche.

Smith continued digging to get to the man, unconscious at this point, until the helicopter arrived and they could get him out

He came to and was flown to the Mayo nursing station, where he was treated and released. He could not be reached for comment.

"The odds were not in his favour,” Smith said, adding that it didn't seem there was enough snow to trigger an avalanche.

Smith has been working in exploration for five years, but this was his first experience dealing with an avalanche.