Drama in Innsbruck

Outdoor App Failed: Young Man Plunged to His Death

The accident occurred on the Nordkette mountain range above Innsbruck. The body was recovered by the police helicopter “Libelle Tirol.”(Bild: Krone-Collage/Christof Birbaumer, Hubert Rauth)

A terrible mountaineering accident occurred on Wednesday in Innsbruck: An 18-year-old climber, who was out with two friends of the same age, fell 200 meters to his death on the Nordkette in front of his companions. The trio had previously used an outdoor app to navigate. After the app failed, tragedy struck.

The three 18-year-old friends from Hungary had set out on a summit hike from the Hungerburgbahn valley station around 6:30 a.m. After a break at the Seegrube mountain station, they continued their hike around 1:00 p.m. They used an outdoor app for navigation, according to the Alpine Police.

“App Suddenly Stopped Working”
However, during the rest of the ascent, the app “crashed.” On the already very steep terrain, the young men lost their bearings and continued climbing toward the Kemacher summit through pathless terrain.

During the descent, one member of the group fell 150 to 200 meters on the very steep, grassy, and rocky terrain and came to rest in a gully.

Die Alpinpolizei

Motionless in a gravel gully
At around 3:15 p.m., the group reached a small plateau at about 2,300 meters above sea level. There, the climbers decided to abort the trip and begin their descent. The accident finally occurred during the descent: One of the 18-year-olds lost his footing on the steep, grassy, and rocky terrain and fell approximately 150 to 200 meters before coming to rest lifeless in a gravel gully.

For the 18-year-old, any help came too late
“One of his companions immediately called emergency services, while the other descended to the victim,” the investigators continued. However, he could no longer detect any signs of life in his friend. An emergency physician, who was lowered by rope from the emergency helicopter to the victim, could also only confirm the young man’s death. The cause of death was diagnosed as severe multiple trauma.

Body recovered by police helicopter
The two uninjured companions were first flown by the emergency medical helicopter crew to the cable car’s upper station and then transported down to Innsbruck with the assistance of the police helicopter “Libelle Tirol.” The recovery of the deceased was also carried out by the crew of the police helicopter.