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In an avalanche in Maltatal (Spittal an der Drau district), three people were buried on Thursday afternoon. According to police spokeswoman Sabrina Samitz, the three touring skiers were likely very lucky: one of them was only partially buried, she managed to unearth and free the other two.
According to police, the three Carinthians, two 33-year-old men and a 34-year-old woman, may have kicked a slab of snow while climbing the 2,633-meter-high Tandlspitze. “The forces on the ground speak of a huge layer of snow that has broken off,” said Samitz. One of the men had an avalanche airbag on his back, which went off, so he was not buried deep. “The woman was buried up to her head, the other man was even with his head down in the snow,” the police spokeswoman said.
Two of the mountaineers were slightly injured, but all three were taken to Spittal an der Drau hospital. The avalanche resulted in a large-scale operation by alpine police and mountain rescue, and other ski hikers who were nearby rushed to help.
