Buried by Avalanche While Ascending to the Summit
Recent Surge in Climbing Accidents in the Italian Alps
Five German climbers were killed in an avalanche in the Italian Alps. On November 2, Yonhap News, citing CNN, reported that seven German climbers were climbing at an altitude of about 3,200 meters in the Alps when they were swept away by an avalanche, causing some to fall or become buried. Five of them died, while the remaining two were rescued. The accident occurred on November 1 near the summit of Cima Vertana (approximately 3,500 meters above sea level) in the Ortles mountain range in South Tyrol, northern Italy.
The seven German climbers, divided into three teams, were ascending toward the summit when they were struck by a massive avalanche of snow and ice. Immediately after the accident, rescue teams recovered the bodies of three victims-two men and one woman. The following morning, the bodies of a missing father and his 17-year-old daughter were also found. A spokesperson for the local mountain rescue team stated that, although the avalanche risk was not considered high on the day of the accident, strong snowstorms occurred while the newly fallen snow had not yet sufficiently bonded with the existing snowpack. The rescue team added that there were no other climbers on the north face at the time of the avalanche.
Federico Catania, spokesperson for the Alps rescue team, said, "It appears the victims were swept down to the lower part of the gully where the avalanche occurred," adding, "The weather in the highlands deteriorated rapidly, so the rescue team is returning to the valley." The other two climbers who were climbing with the group were safely rescued and transported to the hospital. The rescue authorities stated, "The reason why the group continued climbing until relatively late in the day has not yet been determined." Cima Vertana, the site of the accident near the Italy-Switzerland border, is a popular peak among climbers thanks to its panoramic views of the surrounding mountains.
Meanwhile, the number of climbing accidents in the Italian Alps has surged recently. According to the Italian National Alpine and Speleological Rescue Corps (CNSAS), a total of 466 people died in mountain accidents in 2024. The total number of people rescued reached 11,789. About half of the rescues occurred between July and September. By type of accident, 43.2% were due to falls, 26.5% to distress situations, and 12.7% to illness. By activity, 44.3% were general hiking, 14% skiing, 6.8% mountain biking, 5.9% high-altitude climbing, 3.6% via ferrata/rock climbing, 3.4% mushroom picking, and 2.6% work-related incidents.
This year, even more accidents have occurred. Between June 21 and July 23, 83 people died and 5 went missing. Local media even described this as a "massacre." According to investigations, an average of three people died each day. The number of rescue operations increased by about 20% compared to last year. The rescue team cited increasingly unstable weather as the main reason for the surge in alpine accidents, explaining that severe weather occurred almost daily in the afternoons. Another significant factor is the growing number of people hiking without adequate preparation. One widely discussed incident involved a Korean couple (aged 68 and 60) who attempted the famous via ferrata route, Costantini, without any safety equipment and became stranded overnight. They were rescued the following day after the embassy intervened, narrowly escaping with their lives.
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