Climbers face fine for Austrian heli-lift

14th August 2013, by Abi Butcher

The two Dutch climbers feigned exhaustion and were rescued by helicopter in Austria

Two climbers in Austria are facing prosecution for pretending they were exhausted in order to get helicoptered off the mountain.

The Dutch men, aged 27 and 30, could be fined €2,300 (£2,003) and face up to six months in prison for abusing emergency calls. The pair were climbing the 1,750m Little Goell near Salzburg in June when they wrote in a climbers’ book at the top of the mountain “we are going back by helicopter”.

The climbers then apparently feigned exhaustion, and summoned a rescue helicopter to take them back to base.

Local official Helmut Fuerst told Austrian broadcaster ORF: “We want to send a clear signal that help and rescue measures and search flights are only to be launched when absolutely necessary because there is always a risk for rescue teams.”

Meanwhile, two helicopters were summoned to help two Italian climbers in the French Alps in the early hours of Tuesday morning. The pair were killed after being caught in an avalanche at 4am on Mont Blanc de Tacul, one of the most popular summit routes to Mont Blanc.

• austria
• avalanche
• mont blanc
• rescue
• helicopter

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