(Iconic image) – One dead, several buried people in Tyrol and Vorarlberg
©Mountain Rescue/Canva
In Kleinwalsertal, a man was found dead under an avalanche after a search operation. In Warth am Arlberg, a 15-year-old was rescued from an avalanche.
In the Kleinwalsertal, any help came too late for a man. He had been searched for since Friday evening. The mid-fifties was discovered dead under snow masses in the Walmendinger Alpe area in the late morning, he had been caught by an avalanche.
In Warth am Arlberg, a 15-year-old winter sports enthusiast was rescued alive after an avalanche in the open ski area after fifteen minutes under the snow and has meanwhile been flown by helicopter to the hospital in Zams (district Landeck). “People are very irresponsible on the go and always in the free ski area – they just don’t believe it,” said Adi Rohrer in front of the Vorarlberg control center.
16 avalanches in Tyrol
The avalanche situation in western Austria ensured numerous rescue operations on Saturday. Two people were buried in St. Anton am Arlberg, but their recovery was initially too dangerous. A 17-year-old was rescued in Kaltenbach (Zillertal). In large parts of Austria, warnings were given of the danger of avalanches.
So far, 16 avalanches have been reported in the Tyrolean control center, and people have been buried in nine cases. In Kaltenbach, a 17-year-old was buried under the masses of snow, he had to be resuscitated and was taken to the hospital.
Snowpack unstable
The snow cover is unstable in all parts of the country, it said from both federal states. Up to 50 centimeters of fresh snow fell widely, and up to 40 centimeters more can be added over the course of Saturday. The fresh snow was heavily transported by the wind, this snowdrift accumulation could very easily be triggered at all exposures, even by individual winter sports enthusiasts. The experts warned that the danger spots are currently hardly recognizable even for experienced people. Spontaneous avalanches are to be expected, remote triggering could also occur. On steep grass slopes below 2,000 meters, slides and full-snow avalanches are possible.
The snowfall should slowly subside over the course of the weekend, but the conditions away from the slopes are still considered to be precarious, according to the experts. In Tyrol, a 32-year-old Chinese skier died in an avalanche in Ötztal on Friday, and a 15-year-old was swept away by an avalanche in the Kitzbühel district and was seriously injured. In Vorarlberg, two men were buried in Lech-Zürs, they escaped without injuries.
