Hiker fell 40 meters from the Seespitz

A hike on the Seespitz high above the Gleinkersee ended for a 60-year-old from the Kirchdorf an der Krems district on Saturday in the hospital: the 60-year-old was together with a 44-year-old acquaintance early in the morning on an unmarked Jägersteig to the 1574 meters high summit. When descending the same path, the accident happened: about 200 meters below the summit, the 60-year-old was hit on the shoulder by a rockfall.

Rescued by helicopter

The impact was so severe that the man lost his balance and fell head first about 40 meters through steep rock and pine terrain. His companion – he had observed the accident up close, but had not been hit by the falling rocks – rushed to the aid of the seriously injured man and set the rescue chain in motion. The victim was rescued by the C 14 emergency doctor helicopter by means of dew recovery and taken to the Pyhrn Eisenwurzen Klinikum Kirchdorf, the police said on Saturday afternoon.

Use in the snow

The mountain rescuers were on duty at Seepsitz just over two weeks ago: on April 21, two women had also tried to get to the summit via the “Jagasteig”. In the steep terrain they lost their way, probably because of the snow conditions, and just below the summit they didn’t dare to go forward or back.

The emergency services of the mountain rescue service Spital am Pyhrn were not alerted until around 8 p.m. As darkness fell, 13 comrades climbed up to the women and brought them safely down into the valley. The two mountaineers survived the incident unharmed, but slightly hypothermic. The end of betting was given at 01:15.

Localization: The Seespitz is located on the Gleinkersee near Roßleithen (Kirchdorf an der Krems district)