All help came too late – drama about hikers: cardiac death shortly before the mountain station

In the morning, the 68-year-old took the Ahornbahn to the mountain station at almost 2,000 meters and then took a relatively easy hike to the Edelhütte (2,238 m). On the way back, the German was suddenly short of breath. A young couple noticed the poor health of the man who was traveling alone. The two then accompanied him so that they could quickly help in an emergency.

First aid by a young holiday couple
And this emergency actually happened at 1:45 p.m.: The man collapsed just minutes before the mountain station. The accompanying couple immediately provided first aid, started CPR and alerted the rescue services.

“Then the emergency helicopter Heli 4 flew to the accident site, we rode up the cable car with six men and rushed to the patient,” said Florian Eder, operational manager of the Mayrhofen mountain rescue service, about the dramatic minutes.

Desperate attempts at CPR
Rescuers fought for the 68-year-old’s life for more than an hour. However, the man was beyond help, the emergency doctor could ultimately only determine the death of the 68-year-old.

While the Libelle Tirol flew the body into the valley, the director had to pass on the news of the death to the wife of the German, who had remained in the valley. A crisis intervention team from the Red Cross was also deployed.

“Unfortunately, as this summer has shown, many hikers and mountaineers overwork themselves,” says mountain rescuer Florian Eder. This fact is one of the reasons for the record number of bets in recent months.