Rescued by comrades

Ski tourers buried under a slab of snow

On Friday, a 64-year-old man was buried under an avalanche in Carinthia. He was quickly rescued (symbolic image).(Bild: Hannes Wallner)

Three Carinthian ski tourers triggered a snow slab on their descent in the Hohe Tauern on Friday. One of the men, a 64-year-old from Villach, was buried under the avalanche, but fortunately was quickly rescued.

The men had already set off on a ski tour from Mallnitz to the Feldseescharte in the morning. They were all equipped with emergency equipment (avalanche transceiver, probe, shovel). At around 12.30 pm, they entered a steep eastern slope at 2,400 meters above sea level and triggered a snow slab. A 64-year-old man from Villach was caught, dragged 300 meters and buried. "Only his hand was sticking out of the masses of snow", according to the police.

Ski tourer seriously injured
The two other companions were also caught in the avalanche, but were able to drive out of the danger zone by fleeing and free the man from Villach from the masses of snow after just ten minutes. The man was responsive but seriously injured and had to be rescued by the C7 rescue helicopter using a rope and flown to the intermediate landing site in Mallnitz, where he received initial treatment from the emergency doctor and members of the Mallnitz mountain rescue team.

The injured man was then flown to Lienz hospital. The two uninjured ski tourers were also flown from the accident site to the valley by the rescue helicopter. Seventeen members of the Mallnitz mountain rescue team, three members of the Spittal/Drau Alpine Police, the C7 rescue helicopter and the Libelle Kärnten police helicopter were deployed.