Avalanche
A 19-year-old Austrian man was caught last Wednesday in an avalanche while skiing with friends in Tyrol, and then rescued thanks to an avalanche search and rescue dog, which was able to locate him before it was too late.
The man, from Tyrol, was skiing with four friends on fresh powder on Sunday when they triggered an avalanche. Another skier was also buried under the snow. Several people in a chairlift saw the avalanche as it happened below them, and called the rescue service.
Luckily a rescue team was nearby doing a practise exercise and arrived on the scene in 20 minutes, along with rescue dog Asta the German Shepherd and her handler Sebastian Antretter. His friends were able to free themselves from under the snow but he was completely buried, until rescue dog Asta managed to find him after half an hour.
He didn’t suffer any serious injuries but was flown by helicopter to a hospital in Kufstein and treated for hypothermia. A 55-year-old German man from Munich was badly injured during the avalanche.
Avalanche risk at the moment of the incident was high due to the recent big snowfalls.
