Rauris: helicopter rescue during a foehn storm – salzburg.ORF.at
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Alpine police and mountain rescue rescued a Czech ski tour group in the dark on Friday in a complex rescue operation. A seriously injured woman was even flown out by helicopter during a foehn storm.
The three Czechs (between 44 and 51 years old) left Kolm-Saigurn in the morning for the tour to the Hocharn (3,254 meters) in the Goldberg Group. However, at around 2.30 p.m. at 2,800 meters above sea level, the two men and the woman decided to turn back because of the increasing wind.
After about 300 meters of descent, the 44-year-old Czech fell because of the heavily changing snow conditions. The woman seriously injured her lower leg. The other two tourers then called the police and set the rescue chain in motion.
First third helicopter was able to recover injured people
A first rescue attempt by the emergency doctor helicopter had to be canceled due to the strong wind. The police then requested two more powerful helicopters from the Ministry of the Interior from Salzburg and Innsbruck. But the foehn storm was also too much for the Salzburg police helicopter.
The helicopter from Innsbruck – the Libelle 3 – was only able to rescue the seriously injured when it got dark. In view of the storm, the police and mountain rescue services speak of an “aviational masterpiece”. The injured person was flown to the Tauern Clinic in Zell am See – she was thus spared hours of nightly transport on the ground.
Mountain rescuers descended from the lift support
In the meantime, mountain rescuers from Rauris reached the scene of the accident on foot or with the help of the Sonnblick Observatory cable car. The mountain rescuers were taken in the gondola up to a 12 meter high lift support at 1,900 meters, where they climbed down over the support and continued on foot from there. “This is a scenario that we have practiced precisely for such cases. This saves us 300 meters of ascent,” says mountain rescue site manager Wolfgang Rohrmoser.
The mountain rescuers then escorted the two uninjured ski tourers safely down into the valley. The operation was over by 6:50 p.m.