Latest news with #TyroleanAlps
The Independent
23-07-2025
- The Independent
Mother's horror as her newborn baby plunges 160ft down mountain in pram
A 10-week-old baby miraculously survived a 160-foot fall down a mountain in Austria after the mother let go of the pram. The pushchair started uncontrollably rolling down the steep slope after the mother, 23, stopped to open a gate into a field at around 12.55pm on July 14, police said. It tumbled nearly 50 metres and overturned several times before crashing, throwing the baby out. 'The pushchair rolled about 50 metres downhill and rolled over several times,' a police spokesperson said. 'The baby was thrown from the pushchair.' The police are investigating the incident but have not yet spoken to the family, who are in shock, Austria's national public broadcaster ORF reported. The family of three had been hiking in the Tyrolean Alps in the Serfaus-Fiss-Ladis area. The incident occurred on the way to Frommes Alp in Fiss municipality, according to German newspaper Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger. The Fiss mountain rescue team happened to be nearby and rushed to help. They gave the baby first aid and helped the family down the slope. The baby received emergency treatment at the Zams hospital, after which it was helicoptered to the University Hospital in Innsbruck. Hospital spokesperson Johannes Schwamberger told local media the baby was injured but was not in life-threatening condition. The child is in a paediatric intensive care unit 'for safety and observation'. 'Considering the severity of the accident, the child was extremely lucky,' Mr Schwamberger added. The baby's father was also present during the hike, police confirmed. The incident comes after a boy, 7, suffered life-threatening injuries after a car ploughed into a trampoline in Germany earlier this month. After hitting the trampoline, it launched into the air and smashed into a barn. Initial findings of a police investigation indicate that alcohol was not a factor, Bild reported. In a separate incident this month, a child died and 21 people were injured after a British school coach overturned in Exmoor, Somerset. Two children were airlifted to hospital with serious injuries. The coach, carrying year-five pupils from Minehead Middle School, was returning from a trip to Exmoor Zoo when it went off road and slid 20ft down a bank.
Yahoo
21-07-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Ötzi the Iceman and his neighbors had totally different ancestries, ancient DNA study finds
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. A new analysis of ancient DNA from 15 people who lived in the Italian Alps around the same time as Ötzi the Iceman shows that Ötzi's ancestry was decidedly different from his neighbors'. "We analysed an additional 15 Copper Age individuals and they have the same genetic structure as the Iceman," Valentina Coia, a researcher at the Institute for Mummy Studies in Bolzano, Italy, told Live Science in an email. But when looking more closely at the DNA to understand lineages, "we were able to compare the results with those of the Iceman and found that it differs from the other Alpine samples in the area." In a study published July 11 in the journal Nature Communications, Coia and colleagues analyzed the genomes of 47 people who lived in the Tyrolean Alps between the Mesolithic and the Middle Bronze Age, around 6400 to 1300 B.C., to learn more about their ancestry. The most famous individual they examined was Ötzi, who lived 5,300 years ago in the Alps before he was murdered in mysterious circumstances. His mummified and frozen corpse was discovered by tourists in 1991. Because a previous study found that Ötzi had "unusually high Anatolian farmer ancestry," the researchers wanted to investigate whether the Iceman's neighbors — who lived in the Alps in the Copper Age, between 3368 and 3108 B.C. — had a similar ancestry or whether they were more closely related to hunter-gatherer groups from the Eurasian Steppe. The researchers' analysis of the ancient genomes revealed that most prehistoric Alpine people had high proportions of Anatolian farmer ancestry (80% to 90%) and low proportions of hunter-gatherer ancestry. Most of these people also displayed a similar genomic structure and ancestry, they wrote in the study. For example, the Y-chromosome data, which helps trace paternal lineage, revealed that nearly all males who were tested shared a similar ancestry that has been found in prehistoric Germany and France. Ötzi, by contrast, had a different paternal lineage that was more widespread, the researchers wrote. Related: Ötzi the Iceman used surprisingly modern technique for his tattoos 5,300 years ago, study suggests While the paternal lineages of the prehistoric Alpine men were broadly similar, their maternal lineages were diverse, suggesting that women may have been marrying into a close-knit group of men. But Ötzi's maternal lineage has never been identified in other ancient or modern individuals, the researchers wrote, and it was not found in any of the other Alpine people analyzed in the study. "As the maternal line has never yet been found, this might suggest its extinction," Coia said. But she cautioned that the data are somewhat difficult to interpret. "Perhaps the Iceman, compared to other individuals of the same period, comes from a different group of farmers, but this can only be discovered if we have more data on Neolithic individuals from Anatolia and northern Italy," she said. Because a previous study had revealed Ötzi had dark hair and dark eyes, the researchers also looked for these traits in six individuals whose genomes were complete enough to predict hair and eye color. "These [people] likely had brown eyes associated with dark brown to black hair colour (similarly to the Iceman)," they wrote. And their genomes also revealed that all of the prehistoric Alpine people were lactose intolerant, as was Ötzi. RELATED STORIES —Ötzi the Iceman's mummified corpse was found in an Alpine gully — but he didn't die there, new study finds —Ötzi the Iceman may have scaled ice-free Alps —7 famous mummies and secrets they've revealed about the ancient world Prior to this study, only two genomes of Copper Age people from the eastern Italian Alps had been analyzed. The additional 15 new genomes from Ötzi's "neighbors" are improving the researchers' understanding of the lives of people who lived in this cold, high-altitude region. "We have no information on the cultural group to which the Iceman may have belonged," the researchers wrote, so "our findings leave open some questions about the genetic origin and cultural affiliation of this enigmatic individual."
RNZ News
16-06-2025
- Climate
- RNZ News
Three hikers killed by lightning strike in Austrian Alps
By Reuters A rescue helicopter found their bodies near a path at an altitude of around 2,268 metres. Photo: Frank J, free photo from Three hikers, including two brothers and the wife of one of the men, were killed by a lightning strike during a thunderstorm in Austria's Tyrolean Alps over the weekend, police said. A spokesperson for Alpine police in the western town of Landeck said it was likely the couple, both 60, and the 62-year-old brother, died from the same lightning strike. Police said the rare incident occurred on Sunday afternoon (US Time) as the trio were descending the Mittagsspitze mountain near the village of Flirsch, and that a rescue helicopter found their bodies near a path at an altitude of around 2,268 metres (7,440 feet). - Reuters
Asharq Al-Awsat
16-06-2025
- Climate
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Three Hikers Killed by Lightning Strike in Austrian Alps
Three hikers, including two brothers and the wife of one of the men, were killed by a lightning strike during a thunderstorm in Austria's Tyrolean Alps over the weekend, police said on Monday. A spokesperson for Alpine police in the western town of Landeck said it was likely the couple, both 60, and the 62-year-old brother, died from the same lightning strike. Police said the rare incident occurred on Sunday afternoon as the trio were descending the Mittagsspitze mountain near the village of Flirsch, and that a rescue helicopter found their bodies near a path at an altitude of around 2,268 meters (7,440 feet).
The Independent
16-06-2025
- Climate
- The Independent
Three hikers killed by lightning strike at popular Austrian holiday spot
Three hikers have been killed by a lightning strike in a popular tourist destination. Two brothers and the wife of one of the men were killed during a thunderstorm in Austria 's Tyrolean Alps over the weekend, police said on Monday. A spokesperson for Alpine police in the western town of Landeck said it was likely the couple, both 60, and the 62-year-old brother, died from the same lightning strike. The three had started their descent around 12:30 pm and relatives sounded the alarm when they didn't return. Reports claim the hikers had reported a shift in weather. Police said the rare incident occurred on Sunday afternoon as the trio were descending the Mittagsspitze mountain near the village of Flirsch, and that a rescue helicopter found their bodies near a path at an altitude of around 2,268 metres (7,440 feet). A map of Mittagsspitze mountain: Patrick Wechner, head of operations for the Alpine Police, told local media that a missing persons report was issued shortly before 7 pm on Sunday. He described the three as experienced mountaineers. Rescuers were given a detailed plan of the hikers' trip and a search operation found the three relatively quickly. Wechner described the operation as difficult due to heavy rain, fog, and strong winds. The helicopter was also unable to land.
