The ten people who were missing following an avalanche in the Austrian state of Lech-Zürs have all been found. Fleming Arnoud Persoon is holidaying in the area with his in-laws and told VRT: “My girlfriend, father-in-law and brother-in-law were completely covered by the snow”.
The avalanche occurred near Mount Trittkopf (2,700 metres) on Sunday around 3PM. The local avalanche service had warned of the danger. Four skiers had to be taken to hospital with injuries. A further ten people suffered no injuries.
“My girlfriend, father-in-law and brother-in-law were covered in snow” says Arnoud, who has been holidaying in Lech since last week. “This was the last day of our holiday, but no fun”.
“There were four of us skiing. We were on piste returning from the Trittkopf when we were surprised by the avalanche. I was ahead and escaped, but the others were entirely covered by a layer of snow 20cm thick”.
“They were able to free themselves of their own accord, but my girlfriend did notice blood at the spot. She started digging and found a man we were able to free. He was in a bad way. When the emergency doctor arrived, he administered painkillers and put him on a rescue helicopter.