Safety fence did not hold

Three skiing accidents in ten minutes in the same place

At this point, the three winter sports enthusiasts slipped under the fence.

(Bild: zoom.tirol)

Three accidents occurred within a very short space of time and practically in the same place on Saturday evening during night skiing in Söll, Tyrol. The three winter sports enthusiasts slipped under a safety fence in the finish area of the valley station and ended up in the parking lot.

Ten minutes and three winter sports accidents: The piste rescuers in the Söll-Hochsöll ski area were barely able to keep up with providing assistance between 7 and 7.10 p.m. on Saturday. Three skiers and snowboarders, a 34-year-old Austrian, a 32-year-old Austrian and a 49-year-old German, fell independently of each other. "They slid across the slope, under a boundary fence and fell over an approximately one-metre-high embankment onto the asphalt parking lot below," said the police.

At this point, the three winter sports enthusiasts slid under the fence.

(Bild: zoom.tirol)

Two of the injured were taken to hospital
Fortunately,all three  werewearing ski helmets. The accidents were noticed by other winter sports enthusiasts, who immediately set the rescue chain in motion and informed the Söll mountain railroad for further safety measures. After first aid, the 34-year-old Austrian and the German were taken to hospital in Kufstein with serious injuries. The 32-year-old refused to be taken to hospital for further medical treatment. "A second boundary fence was erected in the fall area by the Söll mountain railroad," said the executive. 

Serious spinal injury after accident in Kühtai
There was also a serious skiing accident in the Kühtai ski area on Saturday morning. At around 10.45 a.m., a 57-year-old Canadian skier fell on a red-marked piste without any outside influence, lost a ski, slid about 15 meters to the edge of the piste and crashed into a 50-centimetre-high wall of snow. "The skier was first treated by the piste rescue team, brought down to the valley by land and then to a doctor in Kühtai," explained the police. There, serious injuries to the spine and one leg were diagnosed. The injured man was subsequently flown by emergency helicopter to Innsbruck Hospital for further treatment.