Doctors fear that Prince Johan Friso of the Netherlands may never come out of the coma he fell into after being buried in an avalanche during a Feb. 17 ski outing in the Austrian Alps.

The 43-year-old royal had been skiing with a friend when the avalanche struck. Johan Friso suffered major brain damage from being buried for 20 minutes under a wall of snow estimated at 30 meters wide and 40 meters long.

Dr. Wolfgang Koller, head of trauma at the Innsbruck hospital where Johan Friso is being treated, said: It is clear the oxygen starvation has caused massive brain damage to the patient. At the moment it cannot be predicted if he will ever regain consciousness.

The Dutch royal family, including his wife, Princess Mabel Wisse Smit, has been visiting Johan Friso at the hospital since the accident. Smit and the prince tied the knot in 2004, after he gave up his right to the throne to be with her. Smit, a commoner, had previous ties to a mobster. The couple have two daughters together.

Queen Beatrix has expressed her family's gratitude for the countless messages that well-wishers have sent regarding her son.

Princess Mabel with Dutch Royal Family
Dutch Queen Beatrix, Prince Johan Friso's wife Mabel and Crown Prince Willem-Alexander (L-R) arrive at the university hospital in Innsbruck, February 24, 2012. Reuters
University Hospital Landeskrankenhaus Innsbruck - Universitaetskliniken
A view of University Hospital (Landeskrankenhaus Innsbruck - Universitaetskliniken). Dutch Prince Johan Friso was in critical but stable condition at an intensive care unit in the Innsbruck hospital after being buried in an avalanche while skiing off piste in the Austrian Alps on Friday. Reuters
Princess Mabel with Family
Dutch Prince Constantijn, his brother's wife Mabel and Princess Laurentien (L-R) arrive at university hospital in Innsbruck, February 23, 2012. Reuters
Princess Mabel and Family
Dutch Princess Laurentien (L) and Prince Johan Friso's wife Mabel leave University Hospital in Innsbruck, February 23, 2012. Dutch prince Johan Friso was hospitalised in Austria last Friday after he was caught up in an avalanche. reuters
Princess Mabel and Dutch Queen Beatrix
Dutch Queen Beatrix (L) arrives with Prince Johan Friso's wife Mabel at university hospital in Innsbruck, February 23, 2012. Dutch prince Johan Friso was hospitalised in Austria last Friday after he was caught up in an avalanche. Reuters
Princess Mabel and Family
The wife of Dutch Prince Johan Friso, Mabel, and Crown Prince Willem-Alexander arrive at the university hospital in Innsbruck, Austria, on Friday. reuters