Berchtesgaden Alps, Germany – On Thursday, September 21, 2017 a 24-year-old Dutch hiker was killed in an avalanche in the Berchtesgaden Alps in southern Germany.
According to LawinenWarndienst-Bayern.de, at approximately 16:15 a family of 4 was hiking from Gotzenalm to the Wasseralm along a ridge below the Laafeldwände at about 1650 meters when an avalanche released about 30-40 meters above the group and caught the last hiker who was dragged 60-80 meters over rocky terrain.
The 24-year-old victim suffered serious head injuries and was killed immediately. The family had to continue hiking to alert authorities. Rescuers responded via helicopter.
The region had received up to half a meter of snow in recent days. According to KVBerchtesgaden.brk.de, there were 20-30 cm of wet snow where the accident occurred. Due to rising temperatures and sunshine, many wet slides came down in the area on the steep, grassy slopes.
We will try to update this post when more information is available.
Read more about the Dutch hiker killed in an avalanche in the Berchtesgaden Alps from the following sources:
- Polizei.Bayern.de
- Welt.de
- Infranken.de
- BGLand24.de
- Wetter.de
- LawinenWarndienst-Bayern.de
- KvBerchtesgaden.brk.de
- Lawinenwarndienst-bayern.de
All information in this post was found using Google Translate. There may be errors in this information. Please use the sources listed above to verify all facts.
