There was a lot to do recently for the fire brigade and mountain rescue service in the Ausserfern region of Tyrol: the cable car on the Neunerköpfle in Tannheim came to a standstill after a power failure, and a mudflow blocked the way for hikers in the nearby Holzgau. The forces had big battle day.
A lot came together in Tannheim on Thursday: First, an excavator cut the main power cable during excavation work, so that the gondola lift could only transport 150 passengers to the Neunerköpfle in emergency operation. Then a violent thunderstorm swept across the valley, which many railway users had not expected. Because many of them were now stuck on the mountain without rain protection and were waiting for help.Shuttle service for the strandedThe mountain rescue services from Tannheim and Nesselwängle and the fire brigades from Tannheim and Grän were called to transport them down into the valley. “We organized a shuttle service for the stranded,” says Reinhold Bilgeri, local manager of the Tannheim Mountain Rescue Service. According to Bilgeri, the approximately 250 people were not – in the truest sense of the word – without protection in the rain: “They found shelter in the building of the mountain railway.” Of course, the majority then had to hike for around 30 minutes in the rain to the nearby Usseralpe. Fire brigade cars were already waiting for them there. A wheelchair user was also brought safely into the valley. Alarm in the upper Lechtal When the operation in Tannheim was over, there was an alarm in the upper Lechtal – in Holzgau. A storm had surprised hikers at the Roßgumpenalpe. The Ramstalbach rose sharply, in combination with a debris flow, it cut off their path at around 5.40 p.m. at around 1350 meters. On the rope over the brook “The path to the stranded people was too narrow for the fire brigade, so the mountain rescue team also moved out”, describes Hubert Kerber, commander of the FFW Holzgau and mountain rescuer. Five emergency services from both rescue organizations brought the eight people safely across the creek or the Mure. Then the seven Germans and one Czech woman were driven down into the valley uninjured. Record-breaking balance sheet The balance sheet of the Ausserferner rescuers is impressive: around 260 people were rescued uninjured in a single day! Sounds almost record-breaking!
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