One injured

Avalanche at Nassfeld: Four people buried

Avalanche warning level 3 to 4 currently applies - an avalanche occurred on Friday at Nassfeld, which also rolled over a piste.

(Bild: Ara Flugrettung)

An avalanche occurred in the Nassfeld ski resort in Carinthia on Friday. Mountain rescue, alpine police and search dogs were deployed. One of the four people caught up in the masses of snow was seriously injured.

An avalanche occurred next to piste number 70 on the Schnittlauchkofel at Nassfeld at around 11 a.m. on Friday. "This avalanche also went over the ski slope," says Markus Tilli, the district police commander of Hermagor. 

We search everything again, but presumably nobody was buried by the avalanche on the piste.

Markus Tilli, Bezirkspolizeikommandant Hermagor

Four freeriders from Slovakia - three on snowboards, one on skis - had been caught in the avalanche in the deep snow next to the piste. "Two were up to their necks in snow, one was barely caught because he was able to open his avalanche backpack in time. But one was swept away by the masses of snow and pressed against a tree. He was seriously injured," reports Tilli. No rescue helicopter flight was possible because of the snow and fog. The injured snowboarder took the lift down to the valley and had to be taken to Villach LKH in an ambulance. 

A crack in the snow, and masses of snow descend at a surprisingly fast speed - in the worst case scenario, they bury people.

(Bild: Polizei)

The freeriders said that they had not seen anyone on the piste. Nevertheless, the area is searched again for any buried people. "We have already searched the avalanche cone twice with beepers and search dogs," says Tilli. A good 40 rescue teams were in the area: around 30 members of the Hermagor, Kötschach-Mauthen and Villach mountain rescue teams, several avalanche search dogs, the ARA 3 rescue helicopter team and the Alpine police. The search operation ended at 3.40 pm.

The three snowboarders had first hit the slope, triggered the snow slab, were caught and swept away. The two men, who were buried up to their necks, were able to free themselves from the snow, partly with the help of skiers who had joined them. The athlete who had hit the tree was also able to rescue himself from the avalanche. The fourth Slovakian, who had not yet entered the slope, alerted the rescuers. The quartet caught in the avalanche (31, 35, 36 and 39 years old) were on vacation in Carinthia and all four were well equipped.

This is not the first avalanche to occur in the Schnittlauchkofel area: There was also a search operation in March 2017. There were no casualties back then.

Avalanche warning level 3
The Carinthian Avalanche Warning Service has issued warning level 3 - considerable danger - for the area. At warning level 3, many people still dare to venture into the deep snow, which they would no longer dare to do at level 4. The more people there are in potential danger, the more likely you are to get caught. Just like on Friday, when this avalanche occurred at Nassfeld.