Former Formula 1 champion racing driver Michael Schumacher has been taken to hospital after being injured in a skiing accident while on holiday in France.

Schumacher, 44, was taken by helicopter to hospital with head injuries after an accident in the ski resort of Meribel on Sunday morning, according to French media organisation Europe 1.

Christophe Gernignon-Lecomte, director general of Meribel ski resort, told the French radio station Radio Monte Carle: "For the moment I don't know the severity of the injury. The gendarmes are at the scene investigating how the accident happened. He was taken by helicopter to Grenoble Hospital. I don't know if it happened on piste or off piste.

"He was shocked, a little shaken but conscious. It may be a head injury but it is not very serious. He was wearing a helmet and banged [his head] against a rock."

The seven-time champion retired from the sport for the second time at the end of the 2012 season.

YouTube

Skiing remains a popular pursuit among celebrities, despite several high-profile deaths in skiing accidents.

The actress Natasha Richardson collapsed and died aged 45 several hours after a skiing accident in Quebec, Canada in March 2009.

The musician Sonny Bono died in January 1998 after a skiing accident in South Lake Tahoe, California.

France