Lack of equipment

Tyrol: Seven hikers rescued from snow flurries

Over 20 mountain rescuers had to be deployed to rescue the group from the hut.(Bild: ZOOM Tirol)

24 mountain rescuers from Hopfgarten, Westendorf and Kitzbühel had to record a Christmas mission. Seven German hikers had got into difficulties in the mountains due to exhaustion and a lack of equipment and had to be rescued from their predicament.

The group from Germany, aged between 21 and 39, had already set off from the "Wegscheid" parking lot in Hopfgarten im Brixental towards the "Rosswildalm" at around midday on Monday. However, a lack of equipment and physical exhaustion slowed the group down and forced them to turn back.

They were unable to reach their actual destination. However, it was no longer possible to turn back. They therefore gained access to the "Kuhwildalm". There they wanted to make an emergency call. However, this failed due to the lack of a mobile phone network. An emergency call via satellite finally succeeded on Tuesday shortly before 11 am.

(Bild: ZOOM Tirol)

Rescued with a quad bike
The mountain rescuers finally climbed up to the seven Germans and brought them to the Bamberg hut, partly with the help of a tracked quad bike and partly on foot. There they received first aid and were finally brought down to the valley.

The rescue team comprised 24 members of the Hopfgarten, Westendorf and Kitzbühel mountain rescue services, two members of the Kitzbühel volunteer fire department, a police patrol and an Alpine police officer.