Hiker survives 80-metre fall but suffers serious injuries

A 35-year-old hiker suffered serious injuries after falling about 80 metres near Kochel am See in Upper Bavaria, BR reported. Rescuers found him after a search and flew him to a clinic by helicopter.

The man had been climbing from the Pessenbach hiking car park towards the Orterer Alm, an alpine pasture, on Tuesday afternoon when he left the marked trail with his two dogs. For reasons that remain unclear, he fell down a very steep, partly rocky grassy slope and landed in the bed of the Pessenbach stream.

Relatives reported him missing after he failed to return home late that evening. Police officers, members of the Alpine police unit and mountain rescuers searched for him with the help of a drone.

They found him in the difficult-to-reach stream bed. After initial treatment, rescuers brought him out using complex rope techniques and a mountain rescue stretcher. He was then flown to the Murnau accident clinic.

The Alpine unit of the Murnau am Staffelsee border police inspectorate is investigating the exact circumstances of the accident.

The hiker’s two dogs have not yet been found. Police are asking anyone with information about a loose Border Collie or Dalmatian in the Pessenbach or Kochel am See area to come forward.