Slope no. 6 in Lachtal

Two dead skiers: “Couldn’t believe it”

Lachtal boss Karl Fussi is deeply saddened. Two skiers have had accidents on the same piste within two days.(Bild: Krone KREATIV/Lachtal GmbH, Sepp Pail)

Stunned by a devastating series of accidents in Lachtal in Upper Styria: on Wednesday, a 50-year-old had an accident on "piste no. 6", two days later a 66-year-old died on the same piste. This was immediately subjected to a safety check.

"When I received the call on Friday that another search operation was underway for a missing guest, I couldn't believe it at first," says Lachtal Managing Director Karl Fussi, visibly shaken. The fact that two skiers had lost their lives on the same piste within just three days has left a deep mark on the region. "We are all just stunned," says the Upper Styrian.

In both cases, it was obviously a chain of unfortunate circumstances. We haven't had such serious accidents for many years.

Lachtal-Geschäftsführer Karl Fussi

Good skiers
As reported, a tragic skiing accident with fatal consequences occurred on Wednesday, in which a 50-year-old from Lower Austria died. After an hours-long search operation, the man was found lifeless in a rivulet next to piste 6. The 66-year-old man from Graz, who died on Friday while skiing, was also found in the area of piste 6. The police assume that the man lost control of his skis and fell.

"In both situations, I immediately went to the scene with my slope manager to check the slope in question for any safety gaps. But there's simply nothing there! The conditions are perfect at the moment, the descent is not particularly challenging," says Fussi. "Unfortunately, even the best skiers are not immune to skiing errors."