The Austrian army has flown a large group of students from the Ruhr area from an alpine pasture. The group with a total of 66 people have been stuck since Saturday in Hochberghaus in Grünau im Almtal , said Mayor Wolfgang Bammer the Austrian news agency APA. Two helicopters were in use.
The young people from Witten had traveled to Upper Austria for a ski course. Because of the great danger of avalanches and the closed lifts they could not on the slopes. Headmaster Erwin Eßmann spoke in the station WDR of a "slightly different ski trip". The evacuation by helicopter was the only correct decision.
In the adventurous stay after several days cell phone and television were no longer available, said Bammer. Only an emergency generator had the house still supplied with electricity. "Finally without a net, so we sit cuddly at board games and candlelight," the students write on the homepage of their school. And: "We take a shower in the snow."
Snow makes work of the pilots difficult
A spokesman for the federal army said that the students of Gesamtschule Hardenstein had not been able to ski on skis. Even a salvage with a snowcat or similar device was not possible.
In southern Germany , the helicopters of the rescue services are currently in constant use. However, the snow masses were a great challenge for the rescuers, said a spokesman for the ADAC Luftrettung. Especially the landing is difficult in the current snow conditions. Because the helicopters would raise so much snow in the approach, that the pilots could hardly see anything. Partly landing in steep areas is no longer possible. The rescuers would then have to rappel off the helicopters using winches. These are dangerous missions.
Snowplow crashed into the Isar - driver dies
After an accident in the vicinity of Lenggries (Bad Tölz-Wolfratshausen district), the driver of a snow plow died after he had crashed into the Isar with his 18-tonne vehicle. The 48-year-old had been flown to a special clinic in Innsbruck, according to "Süddeutsche Zeitung" and "Merkur", but died there were injuries.
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Heavy winter weather: snow, snow, snowIn Austria meanwhile, the emergency services have used the current snow break and blown avalanches off the slopes. As a result, the Hochkar Alpine Road to the Hochkar ski resort can be cleared again, as the mayor of Göstling, Friedrich Fahrnberger, explained. When the ski operation can be resumed there is not foreseeable.
In Styria some roads could be reopened at least temporarily after exploring. Along the Pyhrn highway (A9) and many other roads, the snow was blown from the trees by helicopters. Helicopters of the Austrian army were used for this:
Meanwhile, in the Tyrolean provincial capital of Innsbruck, they are bracing themselves for possible avalanches on the Alps-Nordkette. In the critical areas are due to snowfall and drifts 4 to 6.5 meters of fresh snow, said the country. Larger avalanches have not gone off so far, larger blasts but not possible. Security measures have been taken for three neighborhoods, residents in some avalanche danger zones to keep the doors and windows closed and avoid unnecessary outdoor stays in the affected areas.
However, the situation was not dramatic, said Elmar Rizzoli, General Secre- tary General, according to a statement. Possible avalanches would not directly threaten the neighborhoods. Streams, a weak blast or a snow cloud, could penetrate into inhabited areas.
On Thursday, an avalanche in Switzerland had penetrated into a hotel restaurant and had injured several people. Overall, the avalanche danger in large parts of the Bavarian Alps has fallen according to experts. For Friday, the avalanche warning service Bayern in Munich classified the danger only for the Berchtesgaden Alps as large (level 4), which is the second highest of five danger levels. The avalanche danger also fell slightly in many parts of Austria. In the areas most affected by the enormous snowfall of the past few days, warning level 4 was mostly used on Friday.
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