Tragic start to the season

Planai: 42-year-old man from Graz dies in skiing accident

The accident occurred away from the secured pistes.(Bild: Christian Jauschowetz)

A tragic accident on the Planai in Styria on Sunday: a skier fell off the piste and any attempt to rescue him was too late - the man died on the spot. Due to the current situation, the operators are urging skiers to exercise particular caution.

A 42-year-old man from Graz had a fatal accident while skiing on the Planai on Sunday. The man was skiing off the marked pistes in open terrain when the tragic accident occurred below the Burgstallalmbahn - an 8-seater cable car. According to the ski lift operators, the winter sportsman probably caught his skis on a root, causing him to fall heavily and suffer a broken neck.

The accident occurred away from the secured slopes.(Bild: Christian Jauschowetz)

Georg Bliem, Managing Director of Planai-Hochwurzen-Bahnen, confirmed the incident when asked by "Krone". According to Bliem, the piste rescuers were quickly on the scene, as were the Alpine police, and the emergency doctor was also winched to the scene of the accident by the C14 emergency helicopter, but was only able to determine that the skier had died.

"Stay on the slopes at all costs!"
Bliem urgently appeals to all skiers and snowboarders to stay on the open slopes: "It's very unfortunate what happened. Especially now, at the start of the season, we can only urge everyone to stay on the slopes, as there is still too little snow off-piste."

This year's ski season in the popular Ennstal ski area only opened on Saturday. Around 1600 guests were counted on Sunday alone.