Hiker from Baden-Württemberg rescued after fall in Tyrolean mountains

After his mobile phone was located, the search area was initially focused on the Bernhardseck and Jöchelspitze areas and then extended in the direction of the Obergiblen district. During the night into Wednesday, the search had to be suspended between 1:30 a.m. and 7:00 a.m. due to the weather conditions.

Search in fog and cold

When the fog temporarily lifted on Wednesday morning, the RK2 emergency doctor helicopter was able to drop off five search teams in the area of the Mutte, the Hermann von Barth Hut and the Nappenkar. Shortly after 11:00 a.m., the missing man was found seriously injured, lying in a snow field near a mountain saddle at an altitude of 2,219 meters.

When the Elbigenalp mountain rescue team arrived, the 44-year-old was responsive but unable to recall the course of the accident, police reported. Six mountain rescuers first treated the man before the RK2 emergency doctor helicopter flew him, following emergency medical treatment, to the Murnau clinic in Bavaria.

Recovery and rescue

Investigators assume that the hiker fell over a very steep, rock-strewn mountain face in the area of the 2,388-metre-high Strahlkopf. According to a report by the online edition of the Kronen Zeitung, he slid down around 150 meters in the process.

According to the air rescue company ARA, temperatures at the accident site at night were around zero degrees. ARA Flugrettung said it was deeply impressed: „Es muss Schutzengel geben, anders ist es nicht erklärbar, dass man mit solchen Verletzungen eine Nacht bei diesen Temperaturen und Schneefall im Freien überlebt“, the organization wrote on Facebook.

Voices of the rescuers

The mountain rescue service also described the survival of the alpinist under the conditions as extraordinary: „Dass der Bergsteiger die Nacht unter diesen Bedingungen überlebt hat, grenzt für alle Beteiligten an ein Wunder“, it said in a Facebook post. The accident site is near the municipality of Holzgau in the Reutte district.

In addition to the Elbigenalp mountain rescue service and the fire brigades of Bach and Elbigenalp, the alpine police and the RK2 emergency doctor helicopter were also deployed, according to the information. The hiker comes from Ettlingen in the Karlsruhe district, according to police.

The case highlights the risks of solo outings in high mountains during the cold season. The emergency services emphasized that the quick alerting by the landlord in the evening had been crucial in finding the man alive.