Beiruting News

Former motor racing world champion Michael Schumacher is in a coma following a skiing accident in France.

The 44-year-old German suffered a "serious brain trauma with coma on his arrival, which required an immediate neurosurgical operation," according to the hospital treating Schumacher in the French city of Grenoble.

Schumacher was wearing a helmet when he reportedly hit his head on a rock while skiing in the French Alps.

He was airlifted off the mountain following the accident in the resort of Meribel, in the popular Three Valleys area.

Schumacher's agent, Sabine Kehm, said: ''Michael fell on his head during a private ski trip in the French Alps.

"He was wearing a helmet and was not alone.''