On the mountain

Trained guardian angels found crash victims

They were trained guardian angels who weren't flying around on the Schoberstein, but they were walking. And at the right time. Because the paramedics and the doctor literally stumbled across a hiker who had recently crashed and knew what to do. It took longer than hoped before the rescue was successful.

The serious alpine accident occurred on Sunday, March 3, 2024, at 9.45 am in the municipality of Steinbach am Attersee. A 47-year-old hiker from Neuhofen an der Krems was walking alone on the familiar hiking trail to the Schoberstein when a head-sized stone broke out from under his feet at an altitude of around 580 meters. The man stumbled, went over the edge of the path, fell about 15 meters and came to rest on the hiking trail.

Immediate action by professionals
Two other hikers, one of whom is a trained paramedic, found the unconscious man lying on the ground and began to administer first aid. Three other hikers, including two paramedics and a medical student, also helped and notified the emergency services.

Fog was impenetrable for helicopters
The emergency helicopter that was alerted initially attempted a rope rescue, but this failed due to the fog. However, the emergency doctor was successfully lowered a few meters above the fog, allowing him to provide emergency medical care. The seriously injured man was then brought down to the valley by the mountain rescue team and flown to hospital by emergency helicopter.