Rescue in the freezing cold

Hikers heard cries for help from injured man

The rescue team and fire department recovered the fallen hiker.(Bild: FF Lasberg, Krone KREATIV)

It could have ended very badly: A hiker fell while descending from the Buchberg viewing platform in Lasberg (Upper Austria) and lay injured for 45 minutes in the cold at minus three degrees until two women heard his cries for help.

It is hard to imagine how the injured man would otherwise have survived a night in the freezing cold. The hiker fell on Friday evening while descending from the Buchberg viewing platform in Lasberg and was unable to continue. The man was also unable to get help on his own.

According to the Lasberg fire department's mission report, the hiker had to hold out for around three quarters of an hour in a wooded area at minus three degrees before rescue arrived.

The emergency services worked their way to the injured man on foot.(Bild: FF Lasberg)

Accident site only accessible on foot
Two women, who also happened to be on the Buchberg and were walking down the valley, heard the injured man's cries for help and alerted the emergency services. As the accident site is steep and inaccessible by vehicle, the rescue team and fire department had to walk the last 200 meters to the injured man.

The hiker was "treated and stabilized by the emergency doctor and the Red Cross", as the Lasberg fire department reported. The difficult operation was only brought to an end after one and a half hours.