The mission would be too dangerous: The search for the 30-year-old climber who was caught and buried on Thursday by a huge rock avalanche in the Tyrolean Kaiser Mountains had to be halted on Thursday for safety reasons. The hope of saving the young man alive is negligible. Today, Friday, experts will reassess the situation.
It is an incredibly tragic mountain accident that happened around noon on Thursday near Kirchdorf am Wilden Kaiser: at the Stripsenjoch (1577 meters) in the Kaiser Mountains, a climber (30) was hit by a rubble avalanche and buried under it. The young man was traveling with four other mountaineers as part of a training course to become a mountain guide for the German army. When the climber wanted to go back to the starting point after an abseiling exercise, a huge rock fracture formed above.
“The four other mountaineers suddenly heard a dull roar. The attempted contact with the abseiled person was unsuccessful, so two mountain guides immediately went to the footpath to the foot of the wall,” the police reported. There they finally discovered the huge rock avalanche. The 30-year-old was trapped by the boulders. “Some boulders were the size of a VW bus,” said Christoph Silberberger, chief of the Alpine Police in the Kufstein district.
Search operation with two avalanche search dogs
A large-scale search was launched involving mountain rescue services, firefighters, alpine police and helicopters. About 50 helpers left, including two dog handlers. Their avalanche search dogs were able to locate the man under the rocks after a while, but the victim was not in sight.
Search too dangerous, meeting on Friday
It was initially not possible to save the climber. It’s too dangerous at the moment and rocks could follow, Silberberger said. An estimate that was confirmed by the alarmed state geologists and mountain rescuers. “There are rocks several meters high that are loose,” said dog handler Richard Pali of the mountain rescue service in St. Johann, describing the difficult situation.
The search was called off on Thursday. The situation will be reviewed on Friday. But one thing is certain: “Another rescue operation can only be carried out with heavy equipment due to the enormous rock masses,” said the police.
Mountain rescuers: ‘You won’t survive something like that’
Pali was involved in the search along with her dog “Lilli”. For him there is a sad certainty: “You won’t survive something like that.”
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.
