The Chamonix-Mont-Blanc Council in France said a climber who found $168,000 worth of emeralds and sapphires on Mont Blanc in 2013 was presented with half of the stones after authorities were unable to locate their original owner. Photo courtesy of the Chamonix-Mont-Blanc Council/Facebook
The stones had been transported on board an Air India Boeing 707 that crashed on the mountain in 1966, authorities said. It was unclear whether the owner had been aboard the plane when it crashed.
The council said gem experts were employed to equally divide the stones between the climber who found them and the council, which will display its half of the stones at the Chamonix Crystal Museum when it reopens following renovations Dec. 19.
