Avalanche disaster in Austria: I don’t think about whether the Person was careless

Manfred Meusburger, 57, is Chairman of the mountain rescue service Lech am Arlberg. In the ski resort of Lech, was buried on Saturday, four German skiers in an avalanche, the were on a because of avalanche danger locked ski route on the road. Twenty mountain rescuers, two Alpine police officers and three employees of mountain railway and the fire Department have searched on Saturday after the Victim. Three were recovered dead. The search for a fourth Missing and had to be interrupted.

Mr Meusburger, you have advanced on Saturday with your mates, to search for four skiers who had been buried by an avalanche.

That’s right. The avalanche danger was part. But it is the task of the mountain rescue, to help someone who is in Distress.

avalanche warning services, and the Alpine associations warn currently in front of it to enter the locked pistes or ski routes. The Situation is very tense, also shows the avalanche on Saturday in Lech. And yet, you are on the avalanche cone, to search for the Victim.

The task of the mountain rescue team is to assess the behaviour of winter sports enthusiasts. Of course, there is a certain risk for us, if we are in such circumstances. Before using it we must, therefore, carefully consider exactly what risk can we take and what not. There, where an avalanche has come off, will comply, under normal circumstances, not a second more. And the question is always whether there is on-site for a way to escape, should be another avalanche.

you can exclude Nachlawinen but never – and certainly not in the current Situation.

On Saturday we were of the opinion that the risk is, in view of the above-mentioned criteria is acceptable and we the Victim. Three we have found, because you have device with a transceiver, an avalanche search, equipped. As new snow began, we had to search for the fourth, we were not a beacon-Signal places, to cancel. The fourth Person is always spilled. We must now were for better weather.

the danger of further avalanches a constant companion of a mountain a Savior, if he is on an avalanche cone on the go?

of course You can rule out anything to a hundred percent. But we have a lot of experience with the assessment of avalanches. And when the decision was made that we can make a bet, and then we concentrate on the Essentials. There’s not much time, to make additional thoughts to have about the possible dangers or fear, because we are focused on our work.