Danger in delay?

Helicopter evacuation at national expense

The Libelle Tirol flew the ten stranded hikers from the Lamsenjochhütte to the "Steinboden".

(Bild: ZOOM.TIROL)

There is a lot of commotion surrounding the hikers who were evacuated by helicopter from the Lamsenjochhütte in the Tyrolean Karwendel on Sunday! According to the state warning center, there was "imminent danger", the Dutch contradict this. The flight costs are borne by the state.

Ten hikers from the Netherlands and Germany wanted to descend from the Lamsenjochhütte in the Karwendel into the valley on Sunday. However, the hut landlady warned them not to do so due to the avalanche situation. No wonder: a German hiker was buried by an avalanche in the immediate vicinity on Saturday. The search for the German can probably only be resumed on Wednesday.

It would not have been possible to descend on foot in the upper area due to the risk of avalanches.

(Bild: ZOOM.TIROL)

According to a police statement, the ten people insisted on descending despite the warnings. The Schwaz mountain rescue service was then alerted, but the ascent to the Lamsenjochhütte was too dangerous for them.

They wanted to go down into the valley, but said that they would only go if there were no costs involved. Otherwise they would stay up there.

Florian Bauernfeind, Leiter der Alpinpolizei im Bezirk Schwaz

Bild: zVg

According to the regional warning center, there was "imminent danger"
The provincial warning center saw "imminent danger" and sent the police and provincial helicopter Libelle Tirol, which was already nearby at the Binsalm. The Libelle then flew the ten people down to the so-called Steinboden in several rotations. From there, the Schwaz mountain rescuers brought the hikers safely back to the valley on foot or by vehicle.

Schwaz mountain rescuers finally brought the hikers back down to the valley from Steinboden.

(Bild: ZOOM.TIROL, Krone KREATIV)

One of the hikers contacted the "Krone" on Monday. According to him, there was probably no imminent danger. "We didn't want to descend ourselves because of the avalanche risk," says Chris Vaartjes. "In consultation with the hut warden, we decided not to descend for safety reasons. We also indicated that we would be prepared to stay at the Lamsenjochhütte for a few more days. We were then offered to be picked up."

Dutch people secured themselves because of the costs
Florian Bauernfeind, head of the Alpine Police in the Schwaz district and an air rescuer in the Libelle Tirol on Sunday, describes the situation as follows: "They wanted to fly down to the valley, but said that they would only fly with us if they didn't incur any costs. Otherwise they would stay at the hut."

Client country pays
In fact, the flight police did not charge anything. The costs of the flight for the ten stranded people are borne by the client - and that is the province of Tyrol. No wonder the group accepted the generous offer.