Alpine rescue services were required to save 36 people, including nine Britons and three Americans, who became lost on a challenging route in Sölden, Austria. The group, comprising three families, found themselves in distress at an elevation of approximately 2,300 meters (7,545 feet).
Mountain rescue crews were first alerted around 5:15 p.m. on Sunday, initially responding to reports of 15 individuals lost on a hike down from the Wildspitz chairlift mountain station. Shortly thereafter, additional calls indicated more people were lost in the vicinity, including an injured hiker.
Multiple helicopters were dispatched to the area. Rescuers located the 36 individuals, a mix of 17 Belgians, nine Britons, seven Austrians, and three Americans, wandering disoriented. Among them were two babies being pushed in prams along a path described by local media as entirely unsuitable for strollers.
Jakob Fiegl, operations manager for the Sölden mountain rescue service, stated that some members of the group were as close as 18 inches from a sheer drop. "There was even a stroller in the area where falls were imminent," Fiegl told Kronen Zeitung.
The group had intended to descend to the nearby Ötztal valley but had taken an incorrect trail. By the time rescue helicopters arrived, the group had become separated, with some individuals spread out by as much as 200 meters in altitude.
Helicopters airlifted 14 people, with several requiring assistance via ropes. In one instance, rescuer Stephan Kuen performed a technical rescue to extract two boys from a steep gully, securing them with a rope before they were airlifted. The boys' father, along with other family members including a toddler, watched from a higher point before also being airlifted.
Rescuers managed to escort the remaining 22 individuals down the mountain on foot or via emergency vehicles. Fiegl described the operation as perilous, noting that the situation "could have ended very differently" and that the rescue was "touch and go." He also expressed bewilderment at the group's choice of route, particularly with infants in prams. Fiegl indicated that he could not recall a rescue operation involving such a large number of people.
