Austrian skier, 86, dies two weeks after colliding head-on with a 24-year-old British snowboarder. Prosecutors will investigate the collision
- The 86-year-old was taken to hospital with serious injuries after the crash
- The 24-year-old went to hospital after the incident but was discharged
An 86-year-old skier from Austria has died in hospital two weeks after a head-on collision with a 24-year-old British snowboarder.
The tragic incident happened on February 6 on the Schonboden piste in the Axamer Lizum in Austria.
The Innsbruck public prosecutor has ordered an autopsy. Once the investigation is completed, a report will be submitted to the responsible public prosecutor’s office in Innsbruck.
Both the 86-year-old skier and the 24-year-old snowboarder were riding down the slope when the skier made a right turn and the snowboarder made a left turn.
It is reported that at the speed they were traveling it was impossible to avoid a collision – and they crashed into each other head-on.
The young snowboarder made his own way to hospital but was discharged later that day as he suffered no serious injuries.
However, the skier was hospitalized with serious injuries and had to be transported to the Innsbruck clinic by rescue helicopter.
However, the 86-year-old skier was hospitalized with serious injuries and had to be transported to the Innsbruck clinic by rescue helicopter.
He succumbed to his injuries two weeks after the crash and died on Monday.
Another fatal accident occurred on the same day in Tyrol.
A teenager from the Upper Bavarian district of Eichstätt died from injuries falling while jumping over a freestyle hill.
Britain has also seen a high number of deaths during ski trips in recent months.
By early February, at least three Britons had died in ski-related incidents in just eleven days.
On Monday January 29, a 30-year-old died after a ‘heavy fall’ on a French slope.
The day before, on Sunday, a 63-year-old man suffered a heart attack at another ski resort in France.
In December, a British woman and her son were killed when an avalanche struck their ski resort in France.
The two victims – a 54-year-old British mother and her son, 22 – were buried and found deceased, French media reported.
The tragic accident took place on the Schönboden piste in the Axamer Lizum in Austria. Both the 86-year-old skier and the 24-year-old snowboarder were riding down the slope when the skier made a right turn and the snowboarder made a left turn
The most recent fatality involving a British skier occurred on February 7, when a 47-year-old plunged several hundred meters down a Swiss ski slope considered one of the most difficult in the world.
The tragedy occurred on the infamously steep Chavannettes piste near Champery in the Portes du Soleil ski area.
The route, also known as the ‘Swiss Wall’, was closed due to icy conditions at the time of the fatal fall.
The 47-year-old died on the spot despite attempts at first aid.