Avalanche in Western Tatras Sweeps Away Three Ski Mountaineers, Killing Two

Avalanche in Western Tatras Sweeps Away Three Ski Mountaineers, Killing Two

Liptovsky Hradok, February 14 (TASR) – An avalanche under the Kondratova Kopa mountain (on the Slovak-Polish border) in the Western Tatras swept away three Polish ski mountaineers on Saturday (February 13) in the late hours of the night, killing two of them, the Mountain Rescue Service (HZS) reported on its website on Sunday.


One of them managed to dig up himself and contact acquaintances and Polish rescuers with a request for help. “Consequently, it wasn’t possible to contact the person by phone due to a bad signal in the area. Both professional and volunteer rescuers from the Western and High Tatras along with dogs immediately went to the given locality,” said the mountain rescuers.

The rescuers didn’t find the person, however, while searching the site, they discovered the two ski mountaineers swept away by the avalanche without any signs of life. They then searched for the third member of the group, but without success.

“During the search, the HZS Emergency Call Operations Centre was contacted by their Polish colleagues, reporting that the wanted man had meanwhile crossed the ridge to the Polish side. He was without serious injuries, only slightly suffering from hypothermia,” said HZS. According to his statement, he was also covered with the avalanche, but managed to free himself from the snow and then tried to find friends with an avalanche beacon, however, without success.