An avalanche came down in the Trogkofel area in the ski area of Nassfeld around 2 PM yesterday. A 56-year-old man from the region was dragged along and buried 1.5 meters deep according to the local police. The rescue helicopter could not fly due to bad weather and poor visibility.
The 56-year old man was skiing with his son and a friend in the Trogkofel region of the area. According to the local police, the man led the way in which he triggered a slab avalanche and was dragged down. A rescue operation immediately started in which avalanche dogs, members of the mountain rescue and the Einsatzgruppe Hermagor were involved. The man was buried 1.5 meters deep, did not have any space to breathe and could only be found after more than an hour. The chance of survival in such situations is close to zero… (source)
The avalanche danger that was still CONSIDERABLE (3 on a scale of 5) was scaled up to HIGH (4 on a scale of 5) in the course of the day. The avalanche services already warned about this increasing danger, due to the expected significant amounts of fresh snow. With the ongoing storm, it is expected that the avalanche danger will remain tense for the next 36 hours.
Our thoughts go out to family and friends.