Another avalanche tragedy
Tyrol: Two missing ski tourers found dead
During a large-scale search operation in Tux (Zillertal) on Sunday, two local ski tourers were found dead under an avalanche on the Tamlspitze (2611 m). The accident had already occurred on Saturday.
The ski tourers (aged 44 and 47) were reported missing on Saturday evening, and at around 10 p.m., the Tux mountain rescue service launched a large-scale search operation. "Fourteen members of our local team climbed towards Vallruckalm," said Stefan Pichlsberger, head of the rescue operation.
Avalanche cone discovered during the night
The Alpine Police and the Mayrhofen Mountain Rescue Service deployed their drones, and at midnight the FLIR helicopter from the Salzburg Police arrived with a thermal imaging camera. The helicopter soon discovered an avalanche cone near the Tamlspitze, a pre-summit of the Torspitze (2663 m).
However, with avalanche warning level 3 and numerous other avalanche cones discovered, it was too dangerous for the mountain rescuers to continue climbing towards Tamlspitze. "At 1 a.m., we had to abort the mission," said operations manager Pichlsberger.
On Sunday at 6:30 a.m., the search began again. In addition to the Tux mountain rescue service and the alpine police, the Libelle Tirol police helicopter and the Alpin 5 emergency helicopter were also on site.
At 1 a.m., we had to abort the mission for safety reasons.
Stefan Pichlsberger, Einsatzleiter Bergrettung Tux
No flying weather on Sunday
"At first, however, it was not possible to reach the presumed accident site due to bad weather," said Markus Rainer, head of the Tux mountain rescue service on Sunday. At 12:30 p.m., however, the weather improved, allowing the Libelle Tirol and Alpin 5 to reach the cone directly below the Tamlspitze with rescue teams.
Avalanche transceiver signals received from helicopter
"We also received an avalanche transceiver signal there and were able to quickly find and dig out the two missing persons," says Markus Rainer. However, for the duo from the lowlands, any help came too late; they were pronounced dead. The Libelle Tirol helicopter later flew the victims down to the valley, and the operation was completed at around 2 p.m.
Both victims were wearing safety equipment
It is unclear when the accident occurred on Saturday. In any case, it happened in rocky terrain with a steepness of around 40 degrees. On the day of the accident, Tyrol was under avalanche warning level 3 – considerable danger. Most fatal accidents occur at this danger level. Both ski tourers were wearing avalanche transceivers. They are the 14th and 15th avalanche fatalities in Tyrol this winter.
"The cooperation between all the organizations involved was extremely professional," summarize Rainer and Pichlsberger.
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