Woman seriously injured

Several people buried in avalanche in Hüttschlag

One woman was seriously injured(Bild: Bergrettung)

An avalanche occurred in Hüttschlag on Tuesday afternoon. One person was rescued with very serious injuries and two others with minor injuries, according to the Salzburg Mountain Rescue Service. The accident occurred in the area of a hiking trail at around 1300 meters above sea level in the direction of Schödersee (1440 meters above sea level). According to the emergency services, six people were affected by the sliding snow avalanche, three of whom were buried.

The avalanche started at 2.33 pm. A large-scale operation was triggered. Members of the Hüttschlag and Großarl mountain rescue teams and mountain rescue dog handlers were deployed to help. Two rescue helicopter teams and a police helicopter team were also deployed.

Woman seriously injured
"A total of three injured people have been flown out by rescue helicopters so far, one woman with very serious injuries," reported the mountain rescue team in a press release in the late afternoon. "A total of six men and women were affected by the sliding snow avalanche, but they were not part of a group and their origin is not yet known."

(Bild: Bergrettung)

1.5 meters of fresh snow
The hiking trail towards Schödersee is located in a catchment area for avalanches. According to the mountain rescue service, there is an increased risk of avalanches in the high Alps due to the intense snowfall of the past few days. In the high altitudes of the Northern Alps and in some areas of the Hohe Tauern, it had already snowed over 150 centimetres by midday on Saturday, with 50 to 100 centimetres widespread above 1500 meters above sea level. However, the snow is only very poorly bonded to the ground due to the heat phase of the summer that prevailed until recently. The rising temperatures can trigger sliding snowfalls.

Increased danger on Salzburg's mountains 
The Salzburg Avalanche Warning Service warned in a blog post at the weekend that the avalanche risk in the mountains would continue to increase this week. The Salzburg Mountain Rescue Service also urged caution. "Some of the fresh snow has been blown away by the wind. It has no binding on the ground and the wind has caused a lot of snow to be blown around. We therefore advise caution and restraint," explained Provincial Director Balthasar Laireiter. Sliding snow slides and sliding snow avalanches from steep embankments are to be expected on forest and hiking trails at any time in the coming days.