The two young German tourists (20 and 21 years old) wanted to continue hiking to Slovenia via the Maria-Elend-Sattel (Carinthia) on Tuesday. But then one of the two lost his balance.
The young German fell around 6 p.m. and injured her knee so badly that continuing was unthinkable. The two immediately raised the alarm. “Without the use of a rescue winch, rescue of this impassable terrain would have been extremely difficult,” explains Thomas Jank of ARA Air Rescue. “That is why the RK-1 was alerted around 8.30 pm.”
The helicopter pilots were then able to quickly locate the two hikers and began rescuing the injured — a first for ARA air rescue. “That was the first night winch operation in our 21-year history in Carinthia,” says Thomas Jank proudly. “But we practice this scenario often and intensively. So everything went perfectly”, confirms winch operator Christian Zölbl. The injured tourist was flown directly to the LKH Villach.
Villach’s mountain rescue team, which was already approaching, then took care of the recovery of the second Germans. “The RK-1 could no longer see them on the steep terrain and had to pull away again due to darkness,” said Bernd Winkler, Operations Manager of the Villach Mountain Rescue Service. “But we were able to quickly reach the hiker and, after a medical check-up, safely guide them to the valley.” Fortunately, the two Germans were found so quickly. “The now cold nights in the mountains are a moment of danger,” Winkler continues. “Both patients already showed signs of hypothermia.”
17 mountain rescue workers from the Villach mountain rescue team, the St. Jakob police team and the ARA air rescue helicopter RK-1 were deployed.
Source: Krone
I am Ida Scott, a journalist and content author with a passion for uncovering the truth. I have been writing professionally for Today Times Live since 2020 and specialize in political news. My career began when I was just 17; I had already developed a knack for research and an eye for detail which made me stand out from my peers.
