Two 19-year-old men from Bavaria were swept away hundreds of meters by an avalanche while hiking in the Austrian Alps. One of the men could only be rescued dead, the police announced on Wednesday. A second 19-year-old was injured. It was initially unclear how serious the injuries were, said a police spokeswoman.
According to the information, a seven-person German group was hiking in the Pertisau municipality in Tyrol on Tuesday afternoon and wanted to climb the Bärenkopf. At an altitude of around 1,800 meters, due to the snow, the group decided to skip the climb to the summit and descend directly. According to the police, an avalanche then broke out around 30 meters above them.
The two 19-year-olds who had run ahead were caught in the avalanche. The fatally injured young man was dragged around 330 meters and buried around a meter deep. The mountain rescue service got him out of the snow after more than an hour. According to the police, the second 19-year-old was released from the snow masses after climbing around 250 meters. He was rescued with a rope by the rescue helicopter and flown to a clinic. The rest of the group managed to avoid the avalanche.
The hikers made an emergency call and waited for help. According to the police spokeswoman, the two 19-year-olds were from the Eichstätt district. Three helicopters, numerous mountain rescuers, firefighters, two mountain rescue dogs, three alpine police officers and a crisis intervention team were on duty at the avalanche accident on Tuesday.