Black Saturday
Five dead in avalanches in Salzburg
Despite all warnings, mountain rescuers in Salzburg and Styria had to recover the bodies of winter sports enthusiasts three times on Saturday after avalanches. First, five people died in two avalanches in the province of Salzburg. Late in the evening, another accident was reported in the Murtal valley in Styria.
At around 12:30 p.m., the Bad Hofgastein mountain rescue service was alerted. A ski tourer was buried by an avalanche in the "Schmugglerscharte" area at around 2,200 meters in open terrain. Her husband had reported the avalanche. Despite attempts to resuscitate her, the woman died.
Next avalanche in the Großarl Valley
At around 2 p.m., the mountain rescue service was alerted again when an avalanche occurred in open alpine terrain in the Finsterkopf area of the Großarl Valley at an altitude of around 2150 meters. Seven ski tourers were buried. Four people were recovered dead. One person was seriously injured, one slightly injured. One person remained uninjured. Four rescue helicopters were deployed.
Avalanches also occurred in Hüttschlag on the Plattenkogel and in Großarl on the Frauenkogel, but no one was injured. Both were triggered by winter sports enthusiasts.
Three dead in avalanche in Styria
In the evening, it was reported that an avalanche accident with three fatalities had also occurred in the Pusterwald area in the Styrian district of Murtal late on Saturday afternoon. According to initial investigations, seven Czech ski tourers were involved in the avalanche. Three of them were caught in the avalanche and completely buried. Around 150 rescue workers attempted to recover the bodies, but had to interrupt the operation due to the weather. The recovery is set to continue on Sunday.
Despite clear and repeated warnings, there were again numerous avalanches today – unfortunately with fatal consequences.
Gerhard Kremser, Bezirksleiter der Bergrettung Pongau
The Salzburg Mountain Rescue Service is once again issuing an urgent warning about the current conditions. "Despite clear and repeated warnings, there were again numerous avalanches today – unfortunately with fatal consequences," explains Gerhard Kremser, district manager of the Pongau Mountain Rescue Service. "Our sympathy goes out to the families. This tragedy is a painful reminder of how serious the current avalanche situation is."
Avalanche warning level 3: Drift snow particularly risky
The Salzburg Avalanche Warning Service classified the danger level for Saturday as "Danger Level 3" out of five levels, which means considerable danger. Snow slab avalanches can be triggered in some places by a small additional load and reach medium size. Cracks and settling noises when walking on the snow cover indicate the danger. The total snow depth is still well below average in many places. Ridges and crests are often completely blown away, and so-called drift snow is dangerous.
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