Shortly after 9.30 a.m., the first emergency call went out from the Tyrol control center. "Avalanche mountain/alpine terrain Tuxer Hauptkamm", it said. The avalanche occurred in the so-called "Kleegrube" below the Tuxer Fernerhaus, as the "Krone" had already been able to find out.

Air rescuer describes dramatic scenes
A large-scale operation was launched immediately, as a winter sports enthusiast was buried. Two German skiers - 29 and 30 years old - had skied into open terrain at 2500 meters above sea level. The 30-year-old had skied ahead - he had also triggered the avalanche. He was buried around 100 meters over steep, rocky terrain. His companion no longer dared to continue and raised the alarm.

Air rescuer Stefan Pichlsberger and an emergency doctor from the Alpin 5 helicopter were able to locate the buried man together using an avalanche transceiver and dig him out from a depth of 1.20 meters. "We had to resuscitate the man. We restored his circulation and flew him to the hospital in Innsbruck in a critical condition," explains Pichlsberger in the "Krone" interview.

Shortly after midday, the hospital told "Krone" that the man was "in a very critical condition" and was being treated in the intensive care unit.

The Tux mountain rescue team, avalanche dogs, the Libelle Tirol police helicopter and the Alpin 5 emergency helicopter were deployed.

Avalanche alert also in Nauders
In the late morning, there was also an avalanche alert in Nauders (Landeck district). In the so-called Zirmhang, a skier triggered an avalanche around 200 meters long in open terrain and was partially buried. Eyewitnesses immediately raised the alarm. In the meantime, however, the skier was able to free himself. According to Christoph Baumann, CEO of Bergbahnen Nauders, the man was treated in the first aid room. He did not want to be transported by helicopter. He presumably remained uninjured.

False alarm in Hochgurgl
There was also an avalanche alarm in Hochgurgl (Imst district) this morning. However, as the control center explained, the operation was aborted as the avalanche had one entry and one exit track. It was a false alarm and nobody was buried. 

High avalanche risk on the mountains
After enormous amounts of fresh snow in some places on Tuesday, the avalanche danger on the mountains in large parts of Tyrol has increased enormously. Warning level 4 out of 5 is in force above the tree line.

Danger spots barely recognizable
"The conditions for snow sports away from secured pistes are precarious", warns the Tyrol Avalanche Warning Service in its latest report. "Even individual winter sports enthusiasts can very easily trigger avalanches, even large ones!" Dangerous spots are covered in snow and can hardly be recognized even by experienced skiers.

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