Head of operations:

“A good feeling to have rescued the woman”

Emergency services initially searched for the 48-year-old woman for hours.

(Bild: ÖWR LV OÖ)

The head of operations (29) of a special unit from Laakirchen was instrumental in the rescue of an injured 48-year-old woman from Bad Ischl lying in the Rettenbach on Wednesday. The injured woman had fallen ten meters down a 50 degree slope, landed in the water and was completely helpless. She was rescued by river rescuers.

"The woman was totally relieved and was very happy when we came to her," says Anna Zimmermann, head of the Laakirchen water rescue team. The 29-year-old and her colleagues specialize in rescues in flowing waters, which is why they are called out to operations all over Upper Austria.

At around 3 p.m. on Wednesday, the special team had to be called out to search for a person in the Rettenbachklamm gorge near Bad Ischl. As reported, the police had been notified at around 1.45 p.m. that a 48-year-old local woman had gone missing.

Anna Zimmermann and her colleagues rescued the injured woman.

(Bild: Angelika Neuhofer)

Dangerous maneuvers by drivers
"We were informed via pager and then drove from Laakirchen to Bad Ischl in our emergency vehicle with blue lights flashing," says Zimmermann. The journey was not exactly straightforward due to some drivers reacting in an inappropriate manner. "Some, for example, brake abruptly when a car with blue lights appears behind them." Alpine police and firefighters were also alerted.

At around 4 p.m., the missing woman phoned a friend and explained that she urgently needed help. After falling over a steep slope, she was lying in the Rettenbach stream and could not move.

Injured person rescued with a stretcher
50 minutes later, the injured woman was found in the water on the riverbank. "We quickly rescued the woman lying on her back with a stretcher and handed her over to paramedics from the Red Cross," explains Zimmermann, who regularly practises this type of operation. Her conclusion: "It's an absolutely great feeling when you can rescue people who are still alive. Unfortunately, that doesn't happen that often here."