Operation in East Tyrol

Avalanche alarm in ski resort: one person buried

Avalanche search dogs, in the photo a four-legged friend during an exercise, were also deployed after the avalanche in East Tyrol.

(Bild: Österreichische Rettungshundebrigade)

Avalanche alert on Tuesday afternoon in East Tyrol: according to the initial police report, an avalanche occurred in the area of a ski slope in Kals. It was initially unclear whether there were any buried victims. A large-scale operation involving mountain rescuers, two helicopters and avalanche dogs was the result. The search ended in the evening without any results. 

At around 2.40 p.m. on Tuesday, an avalanche occurred in the "Großglocknerressort Kals/Matrei" ski area at an altitude of around 2,200 meters on the red-marked ski slope no. 14. As it was not initially known whether people had been buried, six employees of the mountain railroads immediately went to the avalanche cone as soon as they became aware of it and began the first surface search and the search with avalanche transceivers.

Avalanche cone searched several times
After the arrival of the emergency services from the Kals and Matrei mountain rescue teams and the Alpine police, three avalanche search dogs were also deployed. At the same time, the affected area was probed with avalanche probes by the emergency services, mountain railway staff and the Alpine Police.

After no avalanche signal could be received at the avalanche cone, it had also been probed several times without success, the avalanche dogs had not indicated a find and the use of an additional technical search device had not yielded any indications of buried persons, the operation was ended as darkness fell at 5.30 pm.

Ski slope buried over a length of 200 meters
According to the investigations so far, the snow slab broke off around 200 meters above the piste and buried it over a length of around 200 meters across the entire width of the piste - around 40 meters.

The Kals and Matrei mountain rescue teams were deployed, each with 20 rescue workers and three avalanche dogs, the Kals/Matrei mountain railroads with seven employees, the crew of an emergency helicopter and four Alpine police officers.

Fresh snow: closure, accident, avalanche risk
Huge amounts of fresh snow have already caused problems and dicey situations in parts of Tyrol on Tuesday. For example, the Fernpass between Nassereith and Lermoos had to be closed in the morning due to vehicles getting stuck. And in Kühtai, a construction site vehicle carrying five people was caught in an avalanche near the construction site for the storage power plant. Although the car overturned and crashed onto a hairpin bend, the occupants escaped with minor injuries and some of them with shock. 

In general, the fresh snow dramatically increased the risk of avalanches on the mountains in parts of Tyrol. Increased caution is required!