More safety in mountaineering – Munich news
Minister of the Interior and Sports Joachim Herrmann, Minister of Justice Georg Eisenreich as well as the public prosecutor’s office and mountain experts provide information on mountain accidents and give tips on how to avoid them.
More safety in mountain sports – Bavaria’s Interior and Sports Minister Joachim Herrmann, Justice Minister Georg Eisenreich and mountain experts warn of the risk of accidents: the number of fatal mountain accidents has increased significantly – emergency app for quick help
Bavaria’s Interior and Sports Minister Joachim HerrmannMinister of Justice George iron kingdom and experts from the Bavarian Board of Trustees for Alpine Safety warn of the high risk of accidents in the mountains. According to police statistics, 55 people died in mountain accidents in 2021 in southern Upper Bavaria alone, the highest level since records began in 2009. The trend is continuing this year: in the first half of 2022, 30 people died in mountain accidents in southern Upper Bavaria ( 1st half of 2021: 19). “Don’t overestimate yourself, find out more and take the dangers in the Alps seriously,” is the appeal by the Minister of the Interior during a rescue exercise at the middle station of the Jennerbahn in Berchtesgaden. “In an emergency, our ‘SOS-EU-Alp’ app helps to quickly alert the rescuers in a targeted manner.” More at www.alpineSicherheit.bayern.
Minister of the Interior Herrmann praised the excellent work of the Board of Trustees for Alpine Safety and the mountain rescue service and Alpine associations represented there. “Safety in the mountains is also a top priority for the Bavarian police,” Herrmann explained. “We have around 80 excellently equipped and trained police mountain guides and alpine officers in the Bavarian Alps.” Herrmann also announced that the Bavarian police would use new and significantly improved police helicopters from 2023. The total of eight new Airbus H145 aircraft, with up to six people, can then transport twice as many rescue workers or people to be rescued as before. “This will enable us to get the mountain rescue team, who is on call around the clock to help climbers in need or who have been injured safely back down into the valley, even better in the future,” says Herrmann.
Minister of Justice Eisenreich: “In recent years, experts have noticed an increase in fatal mountain accidents. In 2021, more people died in the mountains in the Berchtesgadener Land district than on the road.” Misconduct in the mountains that leads to interference or even death can also be a punishable offence. In the case of the public prosecutor’s offices in the Bavarian Alpine region, investigations into negligent homicide or negligent bodily harm in connection with mountain and skiing accidents are bundled with one public prosecutor. At the public prosecutor’s office in Traunstein, the head of the authority, Dr. wolfgang Beckstein took on this task personally. According to the observations of public prosecutors from the Alpine region, more and more hobby mountaineers often rely on expensive equipment and apps. Eisenreich: “We want as many people as possible to be able to enjoy the beauty of the mountains. But everyone should prepare well and choose a route that suits their own abilities.”
The most common accidents occur while hiking. In order to increase safety in the mountains, the chairman of the board of trustees for alpine safety, MdL Klaus Stöttner, to the ten rules of conduct of the German Alpine Club. Safe and considerate mountain biking is also a concern of the Board of Trustees. We therefore work very closely with the German Mountain Bike Initiative, says Stöttner.