• croatiantimes.com
• romaniantimes.at
• salzburgtimes.at
• viennatimes.at
• austrianindependent.com

Today

• Vienna - Johnny\'s Pub Quiz
• Vienna - Unknown Underground
• Vienna- January and February at the Austrian Film Museum
• Vienna - Art by Petronilla Hohenwarter.
• STOMP at the MuseumsQuartier

08. 02. 10. - 16:00

• more General News news
• RSS Feed General News

08. 02. 10. - 16:00

Avalanche death total rises

The number of avalanche deaths in Austria so far this season has risen to fifteen following more avalanches over the weekend in the Austrian Alps.

A German man died of his injuries last night (Sun/Mon) at Innsbruck University Clinic after having been caught in an avalanche near Tyrol’s Pitztal Glacier earlier in the day.

Police said the man from Baden-Württemberg and a German friend were swamped by a 30-metre-wide mass of snow that broke away and carried them 300 metres downhill.

The friend managed to free himself and call rescuers, who took the other German to the Innsbruck clinic.

The German was not the only avalanche victim over the weekend. A 39-year-old Upper Austrian man’s body was found yesterday after he had gone missing while skiing near Große Bärneck mountain in Styria’s Liezen district.

In another incident, a 28-year-old man died yesterday while skiing near Nassfeld in Carinthia’s Hermagor district when he was caught in an avalanche and smashed against a tree.

Many other winter sportsmen were caught in avalanches over the weekend but survived their experiences with varying degrees of injury.

The weekend deaths came on the heels of those of five people caught in avalanches last Thursday.

Experts warned today that there would be no early decline in the level of avalanche danger in many Austrian provinces.

They said the danger remained at the three level in Tyrol except on secured pistes and warned the slightest thing, including the weight of an individual skier, could cause an avalanche and many would occur spontaneously. They recommended that inexperienced skiers remain on secured pistes.

Experts in Lower Austria said the danger of avalanches remained at the three level in many areas, including that extending from the Ybbs Valley Alps to the Rax-Schneeberg group of mountains.

The risk of death is high when people are caught in avalanches. Hanno Bilek from the Committee for Alpine Safety said last Friday: "Six of every 10 people who are completely buried in avalanches die."

He added that two-thirds of the 26 avalanche fatalities in Austria annually were people engaged in ski touring, with the remainder those of skiers who strayed off-piste into dangerous unsecured areas and who were not as experienced as those on ski tours.

Bilek noted that people dug out within 15 minutes of being buried had an 82-per-cent chance of survival. Rescuers who made it to the site of an avalanche 20 to 30 minutes after its occurrence often arrived too late, so it was very important for other skiers to dig avalanche victims out, he added.

Avalanches, he said, were the number one cause of death among people doing winter sports.

There were 32 avalanche deaths during the 2008/2009 winter season in Austria.

Austrian Times

Related articles: winter sport accidents

1. Avalanches claim 37 in Austria

   » General News 2010-05-05

   A higher-than-average number of people were killed by avalanches in the Austrian Alps this winter.

2. ÖAMTC chopper fleet makes 200,000th rescue outing

   » General News 2010-04-30

   A chopper from ÖAMTC’s Kitzbühel base carried out the motorist club fleet’s overall 200,000th rescue outing yesterday (Thurs).

3. Hiker in clinic after 50-metre Salzburg fall

   » General News 2010-04-23

   A team of paramedics managed to rescue a hiker after he fell in a pathless area in Werfenweng, Salzburg, yesterday afternoon (Thurs).

more related articles tagged "winter sport accidents"

Burgtheater stages Tennessee Williams hit
A German version of Tennessee Williams’ most popular play is now on at the Burgtheater.

Electricity supplier switch barriers to disappear
People’s Party (ÖVP) Economy Minister Reinhold Mitterlehner has promised a further reduction of bureaucratic obstacles for people planning to change their electricity providers.

Erste Bank expert optimistic about Hungary
The chief analyst of Austria’s biggest bank has said chances for a political agreement about the difficult economic condition of Hungary are good.

Greens write off debt brake accord
Greens chairwoman Eva Glawischnig has claimed the government stopped being interested in adding a debt brake to the constitution.

007 health worries Lugner
Richard Lugner has expressed concerns about Sir Roger Moore’s health.

Coalition close to cutback consent
Social Democratic (SPÖ) State Secretary Andreas Schieder has confirmed that the government reached the final stage of its savings package talks.

End of austerity package talks in sight, says Khol
A People’s Party (ÖVP) board member has claimed that the upcoming savings package would be presented within the coming days.

The Loo-vre Gallery
A group of artists have declared independence for 25 toilets put up in Karlsplatz in Vienna, Austria and have used the 3 foot square interior to build their own mini kingdoms.

Food discounts with new ZOOcard at Schönbrunn
The new ZOOcard at Schönbrunn Zoo in Vienna, Austria is offering more discounts and foodie concessions than ever before to its regular visitors.

Organic door to door
For almost a month now a company in Burgenland, Austria have been carrying out door to door organic deliveries. The new venture entitled "BioSchatzkistl" puts together boxes of fresh organic food products and brings them right to your door.