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Rescue helicopter in Innsbruck (symbol image)
Photo:
Newspaper photo. At/ dpa
When climbing in Austria, a German was seriously injured by falling chunks of ice.
As the APA news agency reported, the 36-year-old was traveling in East Tyrol with two other Germans when part of an ice waterfall broke off.
The chunks of ice fell on the ice climbers around 40 meters below and swept them away, it said.
The 36-year-old was rescued with the help of a rope and flown to the clinic in Innsbruck.
The other two Germans, a 31-year-old and a 34-year-old, also suffered injuries and were taken to hospitals.
The operations manager of the Obertilliach mountain rescue service, Gerhard Figl, told the broadcaster ORF that the icefall was due to the currently mild temperatures.
"The entire waterfall was relatively badly undermined," said Figl.
Four emergency helicopters, a police helicopter, the alpine police and the mountain rescue service were deployed.
wit/AFP