Josué Alonso (35), one of the survivors of the tragic avalanche on a mountain in Canada, where two Argentine skiers died, will undergo surgery this Tuesday for the second time in less than five days.
The aftermath of the tremendous accident that involved five young people who had traveled to the North American country for an excursion in the snow, forced the doctors at the Calgary clinic, in the state of Alberta, to perform a new surgical intervention, this time on the left ankle.
Before, they had to operate on him due to the multiple fractures in the tibia and fibula.
"I'm about to enter the operating room. I don't feel like talking, but I'm fine and confident," he told
Clarín
through a brief exchange on WhatsApp.
Josué Alonso (35) was saved in the tragic avalanche in Canada where two other Argentines died.
who is the survivor
Josué is an agricultural engineer and lives in Tres Arroyos, 500 kilometers southeast of the Buenos Aires capital.
He works in a precision company for agricultural machinery and is a fan of snow sports.
Last Thursday he was inches from death.
After the avalanche of almost 100 meters in length stopped his ferocious impulse, Josué had only his head on the surface.
The rest of his body was buried.
He was saved because he wore a device on his clothes that is activated in emergencies and allows rescuers to find lost skiers.
He was
under the snow for more than an hour
and was rescued thanks to the emissions sent by that security device that fitted into a warm jacket.
In the hospital he is accompanied by the friends who survived and his girlfriend, who traveled to the north country after the accident was learned.
The man from Tres Arroyo told, in an interview with
La Voz del Pueblo
, that on February 12 he arrived with the contingent of adventure companions in the area called High Wide Power, which has several ski resorts.
Josué Alonso (35) was saved in the tragic avalanche in Canada where two other Argentines died.
"The idea of the trip was to do it in a motorhome for two weeks, we started walking on Sunday and traveled a few days before starting to ski," he said.
From the Canadian clinic, Alonso recalled that the six of them were in a mountain sector "and a large avalanche 100 meters wide came off that surprised three of us." His friends went down first and, when Josué came out, the landslide began behind him.
He also said that the snow dragged them over stone jumps and trees, and hit them violently.
Two of his companions,
Gerónimo Regina (40), from Lobos, and Manuel Sáenz (37), from City Bell, La Plata (who lived in Chile), died instantly
.
Manuel Sáenz and Jerónimo Regina, the two Argentines who died in an avalanche in Canada.
Josué was found by a German tourist who was looking for survivors.
"They dug me up and took me in a helicopter that arrived at the place. My right leg was quite broken, tibia and fibula in three parts, my ankle was broken in several parts and my pelvis as well. On the mountain they activated all the rescue systems in helicopter and they transferred me to the clinic,” he said.
Josué underwent surgery for the first time on Saturday.
The doctors informed the family that the practice was successful.
The skier works in a company linked to agricultural activity and frequently traveled to ski resorts in Argentina and abroad.
Sáenz and Regina died instantly, according to the first evaluations.
The first was an adventure fan.
His life passed between one side and the other of the Andes Mountains, where he shared his life and his work as a coach.
He was 37 years old, he was the husband of Javiera and the father of a child.
Those who knew and loved him still haven't finished assimilating the loss.
Regina led a very different life from Manuel's, but they both shared the affection they aroused in people and the emptiness they left.
In the town of Lobos, 120 kilometers from La Plata, there is commotion over the news.
The son of two well-known residents of the town -the late "Buby" Regina and the retired teacher Eleonora Raschia-, he was dedicated to commerce.
In addition, he was a former footballer for the Provincial club and the Athletic club, where he found lasting friendships and this weekend there was pain between the former teammates.
A friend of Manuel Sáenz fires the 37-year-old coach, victim of the avalanche in Canada.
Credits: Facebook.
According to local Canadian media reports, the slide originated in an area known as Terminator 2.5, outside the limits of a ski area near Golden, British Columbia.
Of the group of six, five snowboarded and one skied.
It was a type 3.5 landslide, with a drag 115 meters wide and almost one kilometer long, in an area covered with 1.5 meters of snow.
EMJ
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