Four Czech Tourists Airlifted Off a Mountain in Austria

A group of four Czech tourists — two men aged 22 and 27, and two women aged 22 — got lost on Mount Traunstein in the Austrian Alps. On Saturday, they set out to tackle a challenging via ferrata route they had picked using a mobile app, but by evening they had to be rescued by helicopter, according to the Austrian newspaper Kronen Zeitung.

The paper reports that the group reached the start of the trail around midday but soon realised the route was beyond their abilities. They decided to turn back and, using the same app, found an alternative, unmarked path down into the valley.

Stranded at Over 1,000 Metres

At an altitude of 1,249 metres, the group lost their way and could go no further. Some of the hikers were also beginning to run out of strength from exhaustion.

At 7:50 p.m., the travellers called emergency services. Aviation police were dispatched to search for them and located all four, hoisting them aboard the helicopter by cable before flying them down to the valley. According to available reports, none of the tourists suffered serious injuries.

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Around Prague, based on reporting by novinky.cz