It was like a surprise late-night marathon; Only at half past five in the morning were all involved safely back in the valley: from Saturday evening to Sunday morning, the mountain rescuers from Hallstatt and Obertraun were on duty to rescue an injured woman and her two companions from the Czech Republic from the Seewand-Recover via ferrata in Hallstatt.
The helpers report that an emergency call was received by the Hallstatt mountain rescue service at 7:54 PM on Saturday. Three people on the lake wall were unable to make any progress on the top third of the very difficult via ferrata. A woman injured her leg and complained of severe pain. The police helicopter ‘Libelle Salzburg’, which was called in for further support, conducted a search flight and was able to locate the three people who gave a light signal.
However, a helicopter rescue from the wall was no longer possible at that time. The crew was able to take five people from the mountain rescue service from Hallstatt to the Gjaidalm at 8:30 p.m. before they had to take the return flight to the base in Salzburg.
Go out with a headlamp
Four mountain rescuers from Hallstatt set out with headlamps and climbing equipment to reach the injured as quickly as possible in the dark. As a larger rescue operation was announced due to the circumstances, the Obertraun mountain rescue service was also alerted and another 15 mountain rescuers left with the Krippenstein cable car and then on foot to the accident site.
The mountain rescuer stayed with the injured person
At 9:35 p.m., the Hallstatt mountain rescue team reached the exit to the wall and descended to the injured climbers. They arrived there shortly afterwards and found an uninjured woman and an uninjured man. Another woman injured her leg and was unable to get up on her own. Two mountain rescuers then escorted the two uninjured people up and one mountain rescuer stayed behind with the injured person.
Rappelling position set up
In the meantime – it was already 10:44 pm – all rescue workers, a total of 20 people, arrived at the wall exit with equipment and set up an abseiling stand. Shortly afterwards they started to abseil to the injured person, who was reached a short time later. The woman’s leg was splinted, wrapped in a vacuum mattress and a sturdy stretcher, then pulled up in a complex rope process using a team pulley.
Recovered from the rock face after midnight
Finally, 40 minutes after midnight, the injured woman was rescued from the cliff face. “Now a no less strenuous transport lay ahead, through a dark night and rugged terrain, with the twenty mountain rescuers taking turns,” the mountain rescuers said. At 3:33 am the rescue team finally reached Gjaidalm.
A helicopter flew to Gjaidalm
In the meantime, the emergency medical helicopter “Christophorus 14” was called from Niederöblarn, which arrived at the Gjaidalm at 4:02 am. The injured woman was transferred to the helicopter and then flown to the nearest hospital. The rescuers could now go home and by 5:30 am everyone was safely back in the valley.
Source: Krone
I am Wallace Jones, an experienced journalist. I specialize in writing for the world section of Today Times Live. With over a decade of experience, I have developed an eye for detail when it comes to reporting on local and global stories. My passion lies in uncovering the truth through my investigative skills and creating thought-provoking content that resonates with readers worldwide.
