Three Dutch caught in avalanche in Tyrol; 71-year-old man killed
Three Dutch people were caught in an avalanche in Tyrol, Austria, on Wednesday. A 71-year-old Dutchman died. The other two, the killed man’s 41-year-old son and a 34-year-old man, were injured, the Austrian police reported.
According to the police, the three Dutchmen were skiing off-piste near Fiss in Tyrol at around 11:00 a.m. when they triggered a 50-meter-wide avalanche that swept them away and buried them. The two younger Dutchmen were carrying avalanche transceivers.
The son managed to free himself from the snow and alert the authorities. He then located the 34-year-old Dutchman and dug him out of the snow.
Emergency services only found the 71-year-old man an hour later with the help of an avalanche dog. Rescuers dug out his body, and two emergency physicians tried for 20 minutes to resuscitate him, but it was to no avail. The Dutchman’s body was airlifted off the mountain by a government helicopter.
The 41-year-old man was injured, and a rescue helicopter airlifted him to the hospital in a nearby town. The 34-year-old man sustained more minor injuries. Mountain rescue took him to a local doctor for examination.
The Austrian emergency services responded to the avalanche in large numbers, deploying a government helicopter, three emergency medical helicopters, multiple rescue teams, police, and three avalanche dogs.
According to NOS, the Austrian national emergency center recorded over 30 avalanches on Wednesday. Two Germans, a snowboarder and a skier, were also killed.
