Latest news with #alpineRescue
The Guardian
04-08-2025
- The Guardian
Rescued British hiker billed €14,225 for ignoring rockslide signs in Dolomites
A British hiker has been charged more than €14,000 (£12,000) by the Italian mountain rescue service after ignoring danger warnings in the Dolomites. The man, aged 60, had to be rescued after venturing to the Ferrata Berti, a rocky mountain path at an altitude of 2,500 metres (8,200ft) in the San Vito di Cadore area of the northern Italian peaks where dozens of paths were closed last week because of the high risk of landslides. Nicola Cherubin, the chief of the alpine rescue service in San Vito di Cadore, said the man, who has not been named, set off from the Passo Tre Croci, near Cortina d'Ampezzo in Belluno province, on Thursday morning and made his way to the Ferrata Berti, bypassing barriers and ignoring the closure sign, written in English and Italian, at the start of the path and others urging hikers to turn back. He sounded the alarm at about 3.30pm on Thursday after becoming distressed by falling rocks. 'He said he wasn't aware that the path was closed and didn't see the signs,' Cherubin said, adding that the rescue operation involved the use of two helicopters – because of poor weather conditions – as well as several staff. Cherubin said the man was lucky to be alive, although his venture into the mountains – and Brexit – landed him with a bill of €14,225, of which €11,160 was to cover the cost of the 93-minute helicopter rescue. A few days earlier, two Belgian hikers were rescued in similar conditions but they received a fraction of the bill owing to Belgium being a member of the European Union. Giuseppe Dal Ben, the commissioner of the Ulss 1 health authority in the Dolomites, urged tourists 'to approach the mountains with respect and caution'. 'What happened [with the British hiker] warrants some reflection,' he told the local media. 'Helicopters are essential for time-dependent [rescue] operations in harsh environments. Precisely for this reason, it is important that they are not used as taxis, endangering not only those who are providing the assistance but those who actually need it.' Sign up to Headlines Europe A digest of the morning's main headlines from the Europe edition emailed direct to you every week day after newsletter promotion Rockfalls occur regularly in the Dolomites, but there has been a significant rise in their number within the past two months, driven by extreme heat and weather events intensified by the climate crisis. Erosion and rockfalls are on the rise across the Alps. In late June 2025, Mont Blanc experienced a record-breaking heatwave, with temperatures remaining above zero for an extended period at high altitudes, including the summit.
The Guardian
04-08-2025
- The Guardian
Rescued British hiker billed €14,225 for ignoring rockslide signs in Dolomites
A British hiker has been charged more than €14,000 (£12,000) by the Italian mountain rescue service after ignoring danger warnings in the Dolomites. The man, aged 60, had to be rescued after venturing to the Ferrata Berti, a rocky mountain path at an altitude of 2,500 metres (8,200ft) in the San Vito di Cadore area of the northern Italian peaks where dozens of paths were closed last week because of the high risk of landslides. Nicola Cherubin, the chief of the alpine rescue service in San Vito di Calore, said the man, who has not been named, set off from the Passo Tre Croci, near Cortina d'Ampezzo in Belluno province, on Thursday morning and made his way to the Ferrata Berti, bypassing barriers and ignoring the closure sign, written in English and Italian, at the start of the path and others urging hikers to turn back. He sounded the alarm at about 3.30pm on Thursday after becoming distressed by falling rocks. 'He said he wasn't aware that the path was closed and didn't see the signs,' Cherubin said, adding that the rescue operation involved the use of two helicopters – because of poor weather conditions – as well as several staff. Cherubin said the man was lucky to be alive, although his venture into the mountains – and Brexit – landed him with a bill of €14,225, of which €11,160 was to cover the cost of the 93-minute helicopter rescue. A few days earlier, two Belgian hikers were rescued in similar conditions but they received a fraction of the bill owing to Belgium being a member of the European Union. Giuseppe Dal Ben, the commissioner of the Ulss 1 health authority in the Dolomites, urged tourists 'to approach the mountains with respect and caution'. 'What happened [with the British hiker] warrants some reflection,' he told the local media. 'Helicopters are essential for time-dependent [rescue] operations in harsh environments. Precisely for this reason, it is important that they are not used as taxis, endangering not only those who are providing the assistance but those who actually need it.' Sign up to Headlines Europe A digest of the morning's main headlines from the Europe edition emailed direct to you every week day after newsletter promotion Rockfalls occur regularly in the Dolomites, but there has been a significant rise in their number within the past two months, driven by extreme heat and weather events intensified by the climate crisis. Erosion and rockfalls are on the rise across the Alps. In late June 2025, Mont Blanc experienced a record-breaking heatwave, with temperatures remaining above zero for an extended period at high altitudes, including the summit.
Daily Mail
15-05-2025
- General
- Daily Mail
Brit, 21, somehow survives 130ft plunge off Austrian 'stairway to heaven' mountain ladder while taking a photo - two years after UK climber fell 300ft to his death at the same spot
A British man has miraculously survived after plummeting 130 ft off a picturesque Austrian mountain while trying to take a photo on a notorious rope ladder dubbed 'the stairway to heaven'. The unnamed 21-year-old Brit was seriously injured after he slipped while attempting to take pictures of his friends on the so-called 'Himmelsleiter' - a notorious attraction on the Donnerkogel Mountain near the town of Annaberg im Lammertal, Salzburg province. The man had somehow removed his safety harness to take the photograph of his companions when he slipped and fell, reportedly plunging 131 ft to the ground, police said. Local district mayor Werner Quehenberger said: 'He was incredibly lucky that he actually stopped after [131 feet] and didn't carry on falling.' He said that the British man had suffered severe back injuries. Three helicopters were needed to get the climber to safety. Rescue teams had to perform a risky manoeuvre because the ladder was too close to the helicopter being used to pull the man into the aircraft. The Brit was stabilised by a team of alpine rescuers who used ropes and a helicopter to extract him from the steep climbing route. The rescue involved a large-scale operation with several mountain rescue specialists and emergency services working together under challenging conditions. A video and images show the man being secured by ropes as medics and alpine police work to lift him to safety. A spokesperson for the Salzburg Mountain Rescue Service said the area is popular with hikers and climbers, but also dangerous for those who underestimate the terrain. He said: 'People are often drawn to these ladders for the thrill and for social media pictures, but the risk of falling is extremely high.' This latest incident has renewed calls for clearer signage and stricter access regulations to prevent further accidents. The climber's terrifying fall off the Austrian mountain comes two year's after a 42-year-old British tourist plunged to his death after dropping nearly 300ft while climbing the same ladder. Investigators ruled out any third-party negligence in his fall. Two helicopters were deployed to retrieve the man's body from under the ladder. The accident also comes after a month after a British tourist died in a horrific paragliding crash along with his pilot in Turkey. The Briton, 22, and his pilot, 29, leaped from a 6,500ft mountain at the Babadag paragliding spot in Fethiye in a tandem jump. But shortly after take-off their parachute broke and they plunged onto the rocks at the steep mountainside, according to Turkish media reports. Other paragliders in the area alerted emergency services about the crash, with rescuers rushing to the scene only to discover that the British holidaymaker and the experienced pilot had died. Their bodies were taken to a nearby hospital morgue for autopsy. Local authorities have launched an investigation into the accident, with officials examining the crash scene and the paragliding equipment.
