81-year-old dies while hiking in Austria-tragic accident near Neustift

81-year-old dies while hiking in Austria-tragic accident near Neustift

In a tragic incident, an 81-year-old German from Mannheim was killed in hiking in Austria. The accident occurred near Neustift on Sunday when he and his 77-year-old brother exceeded a blocked section of the path. This area was marked with a shut -off strap because the embankment was classified as unstable and crumbling. Despite the warning, the brothers decided to continue their path.

The older brother fell down the embankment for about ten meters for an unknown cause and remained motionless in a nearby stream. His brother immediately alerted the emergency call. The emergency doctor arriving at the scene of the accident, who came with a rescue helicopter, could only find the death of the 81-year-old, as

rising risks in mountain sports

This tragic incident makes a highlight of the safety in mountain sports. According to the Deutsche Alpenverein (DAV) The number of accidents decreases, which partly attributes to changed leisure behavior during the pandemic is. In 2021, 669 accidents and emergencies were reported, which corresponds to a decline of 26 percent compared to the previous year. Nevertheless, there were 32 fatal accidents among the DAV members.

The most common cause of the accident is falls without external influence, with 310 incidents being recorded when hiking, 60 percent of which are due to falls. Falls in hiking are therefore a significant danger. While the climbing dough showed positive developments, with only one of 47 accidents fatal, safety when hiking remains a challenging topic for athletes of all levels of experience.

growing challenges from climate change

In addition, climate change affects the dangers in mountain sports. Increased risks, such as glacier breakdowns, stone and ice cream and the risk of column falls, require a constant adaptation to changed conditions from the mountain hikers. The increasing numbers of people without alpine training who are traveling in the mountains could lead to a further increase in accidents, so tirol orf .