Two planes crashed into Mount Blanc in the French Alps—one in 1950 and the other in 1966. According to local legends, one of these Air India flights that was heading from Bombay to New York had a passenger that was transporting a haul of precious stones on the flight. While debris from both crashes has been recovered over the years by climbers ascending the mountain, a recent discovery has proven the legend to be true.

A 20-year-old French man was climbing Europe’s highest peak when he came across a chest filled with Indian rubies, sapphires, and emeralds that was wedged under the ice, which he then turned in to police. The collection of stones is worth an estimated £200,000 ($332,680).

“The young climber immediately understood that the precious stones had belonged to someone who died on the ice,” said Police Commander Sylvain Merly of Albertville Gendarmerie in an article posted by the Daily Mail.

“He could have kept them for himself but instead he chose to bring them to us,” he said.

Police have determined the jewels were from the second flight that crashed because of fog and high wind conditions on January 24, 1966. Italian newspaper La Stampa reported that police in Bourg Saint Maurice were the ones to make the determination about what plane they came from. There were 117 passengers on the plane including crew members, all of whom died. The plane, a Boeing 707, crashed into the mountain at approximately 12,000 feet.

“According to local legend this plane carried bag-loads of Indian gemstones in its belly. At the time the rumor sparked a gold rush during which bounty hunters found a monkey frozen in its cage,” the article stated.

However, some are discussing the possibility that the stones came from the first plane in 1950, the Malabar Princess, which crashed nearby. A total of 48 people were killed, 40 of whom were Indian Navy sailors returning to their ship, when the plane was caught in a snowstorm that November.

The metal box that housed the stones was found approximately 10,000 feet away from where the crash occurred. There were three bags inside the box that held gems and included “Made in India” labels.

According to the article, an alpinist found a bag a diplomatic mail from the plane during a climb last year that included the stamp “On Indian Government Service, Diplomatic Mail, Ministry of External Affairs.”

Police believe it is more likely the jewels belonged to someone on the second plane because of the status of the passengers. The flight that was headed to New York had a number of wealthy people on board, including Homi Jehangir Bhabha, the founder of India’s atomic program. The police are now searching for the rightful owner, but if no heir is found, the climber who made the discovery will be able to keep half of the treasure with the other half going to the French state.

Image from Zoharby on the Wikimedia Commons