Mountain rescuers and alpine police officers were in constant use at the weekend in a series of avalanches, especially in Tyrol and Vorarlberg. For ten people, any help came too late. They died under the snow masses.
As reported, an avalanche accident occurred in Spiss (Landeck district) on Friday with five fatalities, four Swedes and a local mountain guide (42) could only be recovered dead. In Auffach in the Wildschönau, a couple was buried and killed by a slab of snow. The two tourers could only be found several hours after relatives had sounded the alarm.
In Vorarlberg, a freerider (43) had an accident in the Albona ski area. He managed to deploy the airbag in his backpack before he was completely buried. The man was dug out within 20 minutes, but died at the scene of the accident.
Dangerous Missions
After an avalanche in the area of the Gammerspitze in the municipality of Schmirn in Tyrol, a 58-year-old local died on Saturday. Four other men were injured, some seriously, and taken to the clinic in Innsbruck and to the Hall hospital. The snow slab may have been triggered by the tourers themselves. Due to the exposed and avalanche-prone position, the operation in Schmirn was very difficult, according to the Tyrol control center. Four emergency helicopters, a police helicopter and three mountain rescue teams were alerted.
On Saturday there was considerable danger with avalanche warning level three (out of five). “Two thirds of all avalanche accidents happen at this danger level,” warns Rudi Mair, head of the avalanche warning service in Tyrol. Avalanches can be triggered by individual winter sports enthusiasts.
In Tyrol alone, there were 70 avalanche missions from Friday to Sunday, during which 490 mountain rescue workers and 30 alpine police officers had to be deployed. In addition, there were around 30 so-called negative avalanches in which no people were buried. The avalanche danger will remain significant to high in the coming days, especially since additional fresh snow is expected again.
“For tours and variant descents in the open ski area, you need a lot of experience and, above all, information. The avalanche danger remains significant in all parts of Tyrol at level three,” warns expert Rudi Mair.
Slab of snow swept away Salzburger
A 61-year-old from Salzburg died on Saturday around noon in an avalanche in Berchtesgadener Land in Bavaria. His tour partner, a 41-year-old man from Salzburg’s Flachgau, was only partially buried and was flown to the hospital in Salzburg with injuries. The ski tourers were near Ramsau near Berchtesgaden on the ascent to the Steintalhörndl. A slab of snow about 400 meters wide and 900 meters long broke away just below the summit and swept the two of them away.
Source: Nachrichten
