Sleeping in the snow

Search operation in sub-zero temperatures: Drunk man found

It is thanks to the attentive driver of a snow groomer that the 19-year-old was found after a few hours. (archive picture)(Bild: Steierkrone)

A 19-year-old had all the luck in the world on Christmas Day on the Schladminger Planai (Styria): The young man could not be found by his companions after an afternoon at a hut. More than three hours later, the driver of a snow groomer discovered the missing man asleep in the snow.

At around 5 p.m. on Christmas Day, a group of six from the Lower Austrian district of Hollabrunn wanted to ski down to the valley after après-skiing in a hut at 1,800 meters above sea level on the Planai. However, they had lost sight of the 19-year-old, whose skis were still in front of the hut.

Hours of searching in the dark
At around 6.30 pm, a member of the group filed a missing person's report. A search operation was immediately launched by Schladming Mountain Rescue, supported by the police, in sub-zero temperatures and in the dark - but initially without success.

The Schladming Planai(Bild: Planai)

The drivers of the snow groomers on the Planai were also asked for help. They searched the mountain, while the companions of the missing person combed the valley together with the police and kept a lookout in front of the local pubs in particular. The Red Cross was also deployed with a thermal imaging drone.

Hypothermic but uninjured
At around 8.30 p.m., around three and a half hours after his disappearance, the missing man was discovered by a skier - "obviously drunk" according to the police. The young man was lying in the snow around one kilometer from the ski hut without gloves or headgear. He was merely hypothermic, but otherwise uninjured, and was taken to hospital in Schladming for clarification. The police are calling it a Christmas miracle.