Avalanche in Tyrol: Several Winter Sports Enthusiasts Partially Buried
During an avalanche in the off-piste area at the Stubai Glacier in Tyrol (Innsbruck-Land district) on Thursday morning, eight winter sports enthusiasts - five Germans, two Bulgarian women, and a 19-year-old Austrian woman - were partially buried. Three of the off-piste skiers were slightly injured, the police reported in the evening. Two injured individuals were flown to Hall Hospital. Most of those affected were able to free themselves from the snow masses.
Avalanche in Tyrol
The snow slab came down around 9:15 a.m. in the off-piste area near the Daunscharte. In some parts, the snow masses also reached the lower section of a slope, which was subsequently closed. In the off-piste area, the off-piste skiers were eventually rescued - or six of them were able to free themselves from the snow masses, while the other two were freed by companions, a police spokeswoman told APA in the late afternoon.
A 23-year-old German from the Ostallgäu district sustained injuries to his forearm. A 21-year-old compatriot living in Innsbruck suffered a knee injury. Both were flown to Hall Hospital. Another German, a 21-year-old from the Zollernalb district, sustained a minor shoulder injury. He, along with those who remained uninjured - besides the 19-year-old Austrian, these were two Bulgarian women living in Innsbruck aged 27 and 36, as well as a 40-year-old and a 22-year-old German - made their way independently to the valley by gondola.
Avalanche Airbags Observed
The avalanche was most likely triggered by the winter sports enthusiasts themselves. The snow slab was of considerable size - the fracture was up to two meters high, and the avalanche cone to be searched was correspondingly huge. In some of the affected winter sports enthusiasts, avalanche airbags were observed to have been deployed during the avalanche, according to the Stubai Glacier Railways.
Upon the arrival of the emergency services, the skiers had already been freed. Previously, the rescuers had unsuccessfully searched the avalanche cone in concerted actions, according to the authorities.
Suspension of Search Operation
After the recoveries, the search operation could be suspended early Thursday afternoon. However, the avalanche cone will still be finally searched with a Reco probe by helicopter, according to the glacier railways and police. Further investigations into the exact course of the avalanche incident are to follow on Friday.
The scale of the search operation on the Stubai Glacier was immense in any case. Well over 250 emergency personnel were on site - in addition to the mountain rescue teams from Neustift, Vorderes Stubaital, and Sölden with five avalanche dogs, the alpine police were also present, as well as around 60 Czech and Polish mountain rescuers and 90 soldiers of the German Bundeswehr who were on site due to training courses. Also involved were 100 civilian helpers, two emergency medical helicopters with a leading emergency doctor, the police helicopter "Libelle Tirol," and employees of the Stubai Glacier Railways.
The avalanche incident occurred at a weather-technically quite critical time. In recent days, not only has a lot of snow fallen in the Tyrolean high mountains - there are currently 70 centimeters of fresh snow on the Stubai Glacier - but it has also been repeatedly stormy. Wind is considered a builder of avalanches in such situations, as drift snow can accumulate under these conditions. "The danger spots are often not recognizable," says Patrick Nairz, head of the Tyrolean Avalanche Warning Service, to the online edition of the "Kurier." The recent snow has not been blown away by the wind and thus covers the drift snow packages. The avalanche on the Stubai Glacier was "relatively large," Nairz also noted.
(APA/Red.)
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