Investigators in France have ruled out any criminal charges following an investigation into Michael Schumacher's skiing accident in December.

"No infraction by anyone has been turned up" said Patrick Quincy, the Albertville prosecutor, in a statement today adding that his investigation into the accident has now closed.

The possibility of culpability in terms of the accident related to whether the accident was due to the equipment used by the German or the Meribel ski station itself.

Quincy's office confirmed earlier reports that the rock which caused the German to fall was around thirty-four feet (10.4 meters) away from another rock upon which he hit his head. Both rocks were more than four meters away from the edge of the red-level piste that he was skiing on.

"The accident took place in an off-piste area," said the statement. "The signage, marking, staking and information provided about the edges of this slope adhere to French norms in place."

As the German continues to fight for his life in the Grenoble hospital where he has been treated since the accident on December 29, there had been claims that the helmet camera he was wearing at the time may have exacerbated his injuries.

Ensa, the renowned ski and climbing academy, has conducted tests to determine whether a solid object on a helmet hitting a rock could weaken the helmet's structure.

"The helmet completely broke," revealed a source close to the investigation. "It was in at least two parts. Ensa analysed the piece of the helmet to check the material, and all was okay. But why did it explode on impact? Here the camera comes into question. The laboratory has been testing to see if the camera weakened the structure."

Chris Balfe