Schumacher's injuries were initially said not to be life-threatening
Michael Schumacher, seven-time Formula 1 world champion, is in a "critical condition" after a skiing accident, says the French hospital at which he is being treated.
The 44-year-old German suffered a serious brain trauma, was in a coma on his arrival and has undergone a brain operation, the Grenoble hospital said.
Schumacher's management confirmed his critical condition.
He was skiing off-piste with his son in the Alps when the accident occurred.
Schumacher was wearing a helmet when he fell and hit his head against a rock, Meribel resort director Christophe Gernignon-Lecomte said earlier.
Early reports had said his condition was not life-threatening and he reportedly walked away from the accident complaining only of feeling a bit shaken.
Mr Gernignon-Lecomte said Schumacher was attended to by two ski patrollers who requested helicopter evacuation to the nearby valley town of Moutiers.
He was subsequently moved to the bigger facility at Grenoble, in south-east France. His wife Corinna and two children are with him.
"Mr Schumacher was admitted to the University Hospital of Grenoble at 12:40 [11:40 GMT], following a skiing accident which occurred in Meribel in the late morning," the statement said.
"He suffered a severe head injury with coma on arrival, which required immediate neurosurgical intervention. He remains in a critical situation."
The hospital statement was signed by the facility's neurosurgeon, the professor in charge of its anaesthesia/revival unit, and the hospital's deputy director, reports said.
A hospital official declined to give more details and said more information would be given out on Monday, said Reuters news agency.
Experts say it is likely that his brain began to swell and the urgent surgery was required to relieve the pressure, says the BBC's Hugh Schofield in Paris.
3:04 PM
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