Share

by Tiziana Di Giovannandrea August 26, 2019Two 21-year-old Spanish mountaineers were involved in the explosion of a war surplus dating back to all probability to the Great War at the top Presena, of the Presanella Group.

The incident occurred in the upper part of the glacier a few minutes away from the Presena 3000 cable car towards the Passo di Lago Scuro.

From a first reconstruction it seems that the young Spaniards were descending a semi-alpine route towards Mandrone and Val Rendena. Once the descent in rope was completed they entered a cavity. In the cave the two climbers found some remnants of war dating back to the First World War, in particular ammunition tracers, and took them in hand. At that point the explosion occurred. A mountaineer has reported several hand burns. The other was hit by some shrapnel.

The blast was felt by several hikers who were in the area and who sounded the alarm by calling the Unique Emergency Number 112. The incident occurred around 15.00.

The glacier is at an altitude between 2,700 and 3,000 meters and about 4 kilometers south of the Passo del Tonale. The coordinator of the Western Trentino Operational Area of ​​the Alpine Rescue requested the intervention of the 118 helicopter that transported the Helicopter Rescue Technician and the medical team and, later, other operators of the Alpine Rescue of the Stations of Vermiglio and Pejo in support of recovery operations. The two boys were then reached at high altitude and after the first medical treatment, they were stabilized, immobilized and placed on a stretcher. After that they were carried on the shoulder with the sedan stretcher up to the ski lift because the adverse weather did not allow the helicopter to take it to the top. In the area there was a thick fog.

Once downstream the climbers were handed over to the ambulance that took them to Passo Tonale and from there, by helicopter, to the Santa Chiara hospital in Trento.

The two climbers would not be life threatening, even if they suffered several burns. The Carabinieri who delimited the area also intervened, making the relevant findings and the Fire Brigade.