The 79-year-old asked five hikers for their cell phones to call an emergency in vain

2023-10-03 17:12:00

A hiker said he had a new cell phone and didn’t want to lend it out. Two others simply ignored the desperate 79-year-old. And two other hikers said they didn’t speak any German. The large search operation that was started on Monday at the Gosaukamm for a pensioner from Edt near Lambach (Wels-Land district) could have been avoided. The 79-year-old had taken the Gosaukamm cable car up the mountain with his 76-year-old wife in the morning, went on a short circular hike and finally wanted to enjoy the view from Törleck.

He agreed with his wife to meet at the nearby Gablonzerhütte. But first the pensioner went up to the entrance to the Donnerkogel via ferrata to look around. Then he apparently lost his bearings. When he still hadn’t returned after more than two hours, his wife called the mountain rescue team.

The local offices in Gosau and Annaberg responded and received support from the air: the Libelle police helicopters from Upper Austria and Salzburg were requested. The 79-year-old had his wife’s number in his head, but didn’t have a cell phone with him. None of the hikers he met on his wrong path complied with his request to be allowed to make a call. It was only when he met a farmer around 750 meters further down the valley who had the presence of mind to contact the mountain rescue team that the search operation could be called off. The pensioner was exhausted and hypothermic, but fortunately was uninjured.