(C) Daily Kos
This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered.
. . . . . . . . . .
In Dramatic Video, Avalanche Swallows Up Ten Terrified Fleeing Skiers. A Christmas Miracle Follows. [1]
['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.', 'Backgroundurl Avatar_Large', 'Nickname', 'Joined', 'Created_At', 'Story Count', 'N_Stories', 'Comment Count', 'N_Comments', 'Popular Tags']
Date: 2022-12-31
The Perfect Christmas was the intentions of the skiers who came to enjoy the slopes at the ski resort of Lech Zurs in the Arlberg region of Western Austria.
Days of heavy snowfall in that high alpine region promised them a delight, though that Christmas Sunday was unseasonably warm.
It was a United Nations type of atmosphere.
Ten of those skiers that entered the slope originated from six countries…. the United States, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, Bosnia and Croatia.
And then whilst all down below, there was a rumbling from the 9,000 ft Trittkopf mountain above them… and then the avalanche.
They saw it coming.
Many turned and tried to flee in the opposite direction.
Many saw the folly and just stood there in disbelief, bracing for impact.
Many of them screamed in fear.
This video was taken by another skier high above them.
You can hear the short- lived screams.
For 2000 feet, the trail was covered up to twenty feet deep.
The day before, explosives had been detonated throughout that area just to reduce the risk of such a possibility…. but there it was.
Within an hour, two hundred professional rescuers, a hundred volunteers, seven helicopters and a dozen specially trained dogs were on the scene looking for survivors.
Families and friends were in pensive grief whilst the rescue effort was underway… because survival isn’t always a given.
Just ten months ago, nine skiers were killed by an avalanche in one fell swoop in Austria’s Tyrol region.
Avalanches kill on average 20 skiers yearly in that region of Austria.
There was quiet talk amongst some rescuers that have seen this before, that they would be fortunate to find anyone alive.
And as day turned into night, huge searchlights were brought in to illuminate the area.
They found the first, a man who was only partially buried but had sustained serious injuries, and he was immediately flown to the hospital in Innsbruck.
And they found another, and another.
Alive.
All of them with minor injuries.
They were either pulled from the snow or made it out on their own before turning up.
Until all were accounted for, so they thought.
Said a police spokesman, “On the basis of current information, we can assume that nobody else is missing,” but they continued the rescue for the possibility of others for another 24 hours straight until they were beyond sure and confident.
Said government spokesman Daniel Kosak, “It’s truly a wonderful Christmas miracle that everyone appears to have escaped with their lives.”
That night at the hospital, hospital staff brought the injured and their grateful families hot cocoa and sweets, and a local group came in the middle of the night to sing Christmas carols.
They had been given the greatest gift.
All have been released save one, who is expected to make a full recovery.
And ready to carry on.
One survivor from Germany remarked philosophically, “Life is like surviving the avalanche. You’ve got to roll with it.”
[END]
---
[1] Url:
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2022/12/31/2144111/-In-Dramatic-Video-Avalanche-Swallows-Up-Ten-Terrified-Fleeing-Skiers-A-Christmas-Miracle-Follows
Published and (C) by Daily Kos
Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified.
via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds:
gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/
