Two 19-year-old hikers from Bavaria were swept away by an avalanche in Tyrol. The group was traveling in snow-free terrain.
One of the two young men was released from the avalanche after about 250 meters in altitude and remained injured next to the avalanche. He was rescued by an emergency helicopter by rope and flown to Schwaz Hospital for treatment. The other young man suffered fatal injuries and was dug out at 4:23 p.m. A total of three helicopters, two mountain rescue teams and three alpine police officers were involved in the rescue. The snow cover that is still above average’ at altitude. At the same time, there is little or no snow at low and medium altitudes. Avalanches that break at height can – as was the case with this avalanche – penetrate into the countryside. In the Italian Aosta Valley there are four meters of snow on the peaks, almost three meters on the Zspugitze. The avalanche has made the situation in the Alps enormously worse in recent weeks.