Search aborted

Mountaineer (21) lost in the snow in Tyrol

Due to the adverse conditions, the mission had to be called off in the evening.

(Bild: Bergrettung Leutasch)

Fears for a 21-year-old mountaineer in Tyrol: Despite the most adverse weather conditions, the German climbed the Hohe Munde (around 2600 meters) on Thursday. After reaching the summit, he raised the alarm via a companion who had abandoned the tour. Since then, there has been no trace of the man. A search operation had to be called off in the evening. 

Despite bad weather forecasts, two Germans wanted to climb the Hohe Munde on Thursday. While their companion backed out at around 2 p.m. and turned back, the 21-year-old was apparently determined to reach the summit. He is said to have finally reached the summit.

Search with helicopter impossible
But then disaster struck: at an altitude of 2,500 meters above sea level, the German probably fell and slipped. He contacted his companion, who in turn made an emergency call to Germany. "The Tyrol control center was then informed via the Germans," a police spokesperson explained in response to an inquiry from Krone.

A helicopter operation or search was not possible due to the adverse weather conditions.

Heavy snowfall and ice
Numerous rescue teams from the Leutasch and Telfs mountain rescue teams therefore climbed up the Hohe Munde. They were initially able to make contact with the 21-year-old by telephone. It was extremely dangerous. There was heavy snowfall, boulders and rocks were covered in a thick layer of ice. Apparently, some of the emergency services managed to reach the point where the last GPS signal was received.

The mission had to be called off at around 9 p.m. due to the weather and darkness.

Sprecher der Polizei

However, there was no trace of the 21-year-old German. "The operation had to be called off at around 9 p.m. due to the weather and darkness," the police spokesperson continued.

First search flight was unsuccessful
A first search flight was carried out late Friday morning. However, this was unsuccessful. Ultimately, this also had to be called off because it began to snow again.