To hospital by helicopter

Avalanche in Ötztal: buried victim dug out

Symbolic image(Bild: Hubert Rauth)

The series continues: Another avalanche occurred in Tyrol early Monday afternoon. A winter sports enthusiast was buried - but he was located and dug out relatively quickly. He was flown to hospital by emergency helicopter.

The avalanche occurred at around 12.30 pm in Hochgurgl. A 34-year-old snowboarder, who was part of a group from Sweden, was caught and buried by an avalanche in open terrain off the secured pistes in the Kirchenkogel area.

Slope rescue quickly on the scene
The ski resort's piste rescue team was quickly on the scene. When the crew of the Alpine 2 emergency helicopter arrived on the scene, his companions had already located him using an avalanche transceiver and, with the help of a piste rescuer, they were finally able to dig him out completely.

"Other requested emergency services such as the police helicopter, mountain rescue and search dogs were therefore able to be withdrawn again," the control center told the "Krone".

To hospital by helicopter
The Swede was responsive. He was rescued by the emergency helicopter using a rope and flown injured to Zams hospital.

Partly still tricky avalanche situation
In Tyrol, there have been numerous avalanches up and down the country in the past few days. According to the state's avalanche warning service, the Gurgler Gruppe is at warning level three above the tree line - in other words, there is considerable danger.