Several search teams

Hiker made an emergency call, then her battery ran out

An emergency helicopter (symbolic image) took off on search flights.

(Bild: Evelyn Hronek)

A hiker (40) who fell near Gmunden (Upper Austria) used the remaining seven percent of her cell phone battery to call her friend. Then the cell phone was "dead" and the injured woman could no longer be located. Several search teams and a helicopter went up.

On Wednesday morning, the Vöcklabruck woman started her hike up the Kleiner Schönberg in Gmunden, and at 12.40 she had her "summit victory". After a short rest, the 40-year-old descended again - and that's when the accident happened.

The hiker fell in a rocky, snow-covered area and slid around 50 to 60 meters down a gully. That was around 1.15 pm. The 40-year-old was still able to call a friend (35) and inform her of her plight. At this point, the victim only had seven percent of her cell phone battery left, then the cell phone went out.

Helicopter located injured person
The emergency services informed by the friend were therefore no longer able to reach the injured hiker and it remained unclear where exactly she was on the mountain. Teams from Gmunden Mountain Rescue and an Alpine policewoman therefore ascended via two different ascents, while an emergency helicopter took off at the same time.

It was the helicopter that was finally able to locate the injured woman and rescue her using a rope. According to the police, the 40-year-old suffered serious injuries and hypothermia as a result of her fall. She was flown to the Salzkammergut Clinic in Vöcklabruck.