( CNN ) -- It reads like the opening scene of an `` Indiana Jones '' movie . A young man climbing a French glacier finds a cache of glittering jewels wrapped in bags stamped `` Made in India '' -- remnants , perhaps , of cargo from an ill-fated airliner called the Malabar Princess . The best thing about it ? This story is true . It happened early this month on a glacier overlooking the southeastern French village of Chamonix , Albertville police Chief Sylvain Merly said Thursday . The climber -- who Merly said asked to remain anonymous -- found the jewels inside a metal box atop the glacier . He turned them over to police in Bourg-Saint-Maurice on September 9 . Merly declined to characterize the stones , which are being described in French media as rubies , sapphires and emeralds . They 're worth somewhere between â‚¬130,000 ( about $ 175,000 ) and â‚¬246,000 ( $ 331,600 ) , Merly said . French authorities are trying to trace ownership of the jewels . If proof of ownership ca n't be established , the unnamed 20-something mountaineer could stand to receive a portion of their value , Merly said . TrowelBlazers : In search of the female Indiana Jones . The gems may be from the 1950 crash of Air India Flight 245 , the `` Malabar Princess . '' The plane smashed into nearby Mont Blanc during a storm , killing all 48 aboard . When it crashed , the plane was preparing to make a stop in Geneva , Switzerland , as it flew between Bombay -- now Mumbai -- and London . French authorities say it 's also possible the gems could have been aboard an Air India Boeing 707 , the `` Kanchenjunga , '' that crashed in nearly the same spot 16 years later . A diplomatic bag from that flight was recovered last year . Adding a bit of intrigue to the story , the 1966 crash is the subject of scattered conspiracy theories suggesting the Air India flight , which carried the father of India 's nuclear industry , Homi Bhabha , was shot down by a fighter jet or missile . Debris from the wrecks routinely emerges from the bottom of the glacier , including metal , wire and even a piece of landing gear discovered in 1986 , according to a Mont Blanc tourist site . Inside Cambodia 's stunning new temple discoveries . CNN 's Michael Pearson reported and wrote from Atlanta ; Saskya Vandoorne reported from London .
A mountaineer discovers bones on French glacier . They could be from one of two airliners that crashed near the mountain , one in 1973 , the other 1975 . French authorities are trying to identify the remains .