A carabiniere overwhelmed by an avalanche in Val Gardena is hospitalized in very serious conditions in the Bolzano hospital.
The soldier
was undergoing training
, in the company of two other colleagues.
All three are members of the nearby Carabinieri Alpine Training Center in Vallunga.
The instructor, in a delicate point of the excursion for safety reasons, anticipated the two companions, when he was
overwhelmed by the avalanche.
The mountain rescue of Val Gardena and the Aiut Alpin Dolomites helicopter rescue service intervened on the spot.
Who freed and revived the soldier, who is in very serious condition anyway.
In the morning the group of soldiers had left with the seal skins from the Alpine training center of the Carabinieri in Vallunga, near Selva di Val Gardena, to go up the Val de Chedul towards the Gran Cir.
It is a 'classic' for local ski mountaineers.
At about 2,300 meters above sea level, the group would have had to overcome a slope.
The marshal, who is also
a very expert mountain guide
, as is the practice for instructors in similar conditions, kept the two soldiers waiting and started cutting the slope alone.
At this moment, however, about 150 meters higher up the avalanche broke off and hit the non-commissioned officer completely.
The comrades immediately
raised the alarm and started the search.
Thanks to the Arva, an electronic device for searching for people under avalanches, the instructor was quickly located, but unfortunately
under three meters of snow
.
The Aiut Alpin Dolomites helicopter rescue service brought the men of the Val Gardena mountain rescue to the top.
About twenty men dug in to free the marshal.
When he was finally released, his body temperature had dropped to 25 degrees.
The emergency doctor was able to revive him at the scene.
In extremely serious condition, the wounded man was transported to the hospital in Bolzano, where
his life hangs in
the balance .
In Val Gardena, the avalanche danger is currently between levels one (low) and two (moderate) out of five.
In recent days, about twenty centimeters of snow has fallen, but the new layer has not consolidated with the very frozen old one.
In German, the phenomenon is known by the term 'Altschneeproblem', or 'old snow problem'.
With the wind, unstable snowdrift accumulations have formed, which are difficult to detect even for expert ski mountaineers.
The danger spots are to be found above all in areas near ridge lines, in hollows and gullies as well as on steep shady slopes.