Crashed 100 meters

Hiker fell 100 meters in rocky terrain

The team from the C11 rescue helicopter could only recover the man dead.

(Bild: FF Ottmanach)

A hike for a 68-year-old Styrian in southern Carinthia came to a tragic end. His wife alerted the police because he had still not returned after hours. The man was found dead. Now it turns out that the victim is probably the aviation legend Col. Doro Kowatsch ...

The 68-year-old Styrian from the district of Murtal undertook his tour in the Vellacher Kotschna near Bad Eisenkappel on Monday. "His destination was the Seeländer Sattel and the Velika Baba", explain the police. "As the man did not return to his accommodation in the evening, his wife reported him missing at around 7 pm."

The emergency services then set out in search of the 68-year-old. "In the course of a cell phone search and the search flight with the police helicopter, the man was found in the steep terrain below the summit of Velika Baba at around 8.30 pm," the police continued. 

"The man probably stumbled while descending the narrow and uninsured path," explained the police. He then fell around 100 meters over steep and rocky terrain - suffering fatal injuries in the process. The C11 rescue helicopter was only able to determine the hiker's death.

Victim is likely to be a well-known Draken pilot
The hiker is believed to be the retired army officer Col. Doro Kowatsch. Armed Forces spokesman Michael Bauer posted today on X (formerly Twitter) that he had suffered a fatal accident on the mountain. Kowatsch may be known to the public because he transferred the first Draken to Graz in 1988.

"According to the information, it is quite possible that it is him. He was 68 years old and lived in Seckau," explained Bauer in response to an inquiry from Krone. "He was a very nice and funny guy, always cheerful. It's tragic, but you never know when fate will strike."

On Tuesday, a woman from Hungary died in the Carinthian mountains: the 52-year-old stumbled on the exposed ridge while descending from the Schareck - she had been walking up from the mountain station in the Mölltal Glacier ski area with her husband - and fell around 50 meters over rocky terrain and slid across the glacier onto a scree field. An uninvolved hiker alerted the emergency services. The emergency doctor from the C 7 rescue helicopter was only able to determine that the woman had died.