Particle.news
Download on the App Store
3 ARTICLES
·
4h ago

Man Dies, Wife Critically Injured in 250-Foot Sledding Fall in East Tyrol

Police describe a skid off a Rabantalm trail that led to an 82-foot drop over rock followed by a 164-foot tumble.

A photo taken on October 12, 2024 from the Sonnblick Observatory near Rauris, Austria, shows the Grossglockner, with 3798 metres Austria's highest mountain, in the Hohe Tauern mountain range. Experts say warmer temperatures across the Alps driven by climate change are accelerating glacier melt and thawing permafrost -- the year-round ice found at high altitude that binds together giant slabs of rock. This has increased the danger of sudden rockfalls and landslides, damaging paths and adding stress to the mountains' often-ageing huts. Austria's Alpine clubs are currently closing up to four huts a year as they have become unsafe or too costly to be maintained. (Photo by KERSTIN JOENSSON / AFP) (Photo by KERSTIN JOENSSON/AFP via Getty Images)
Image
Image

Overview

  • The couple, ages 63 and 58, were sledding with their adult daughter and son-in-law on New Year's Day in Austria's Lienz district.
  • Sledders ascending the route heard screams and noticed a fresh toboggan track beyond the edge, triggering the emergency call.
  • Roughly 22 Lienz mountain rescue members and police responded, and an emergency physician pronounced the man dead at the scene.
  • Rescuers recovered his body, and the woman was airlifted to Lienz District Hospital before transfer to Klagenfurt Regional Hospital in critical condition.
  • Relatives received crisis-intervention support, and authorities report an accident investigation is underway.