Rescuers carry hiker from Hochschwab after six-hour operation

Mountain rescue teams carried a hiker from the Hochschwab plateau to the valley after he suffered a medical emergency, ORF reported. Weather conditions made an air rescue impossible.

The hiker’s companions called emergency services at about 3.30 p.m. on Friday. The regional warning centre alerted the Thörl mountain rescue team, the Hochsteiermark Alpine police and an emergency medical helicopter.

Additional teams from Kapfenberg were called in. In total, 25 rescuers from Thörl and Kapfenberg, along with equipment and supplies, were flown as close as possible to the operation site by an ÖAMTC emergency medical helicopter and a police helicopter.

After receiving emergency medical treatment, the hiker was carried in a specialised stretcher from the Hochschwab plateau through the Schiestlhaus and towards the Voitsthalerhütte to Seewiesen. The operation lasted six hours, and the hiker was handed over to the Red Cross at about 11 p.m.