British hikers with prams and ‘zero’ equipment rescued from 7,600ft up in the Alps
The nine were part of a bigger group who had set off on a walk above the resort town of Sölden last Sunday (Picture: Getty Images)
A group of British hikers with babies and toddlers in prams had to be airlifted from the Austrian Alps.
The nine were part of a bigger group who had set off on a walk above the resort town of Sölden last Sunday.
They had planned to hike back down to the valley after taking the Wildspitz cable car up to the top of an 8,694ft-high mountain.
But the group took a wrong turn and quickly found themselves struggling to navigate the dangerously harsh terrain at an altitude of 7,628ft.
Rescue official Jakob Kiegl told Kronen Zeitung some members of the group were only ‘about half a metre from a precipice and could barely hold on’.
‘There was even a stroller in the area where falls were imminent,’ he added.
The news outlet reported that the group, described as ‘completely inexperienced in mountaineering’, had not even stayed together.
Mr Fiegl said: ‘We were faced with the challenge that the hikers had spread out across the terrain.
‘They were, in some cases, separated by as much as 200 metres in altitude.’
Equipment among the group – which also included 17 Belgians, seven Austrians, and three Americans – was described by a rescuer as having been ‘equal to zero’.
One dad with a toddler and other relatives watched from a point higher up as his sons were airlifted from an area ‘dangerously close to a rock slab’.
Mr Fiegl said he could not recall a rescue operation involving so many people.
‘This story could have ended very differently,’ he added.
‘The rescue was touch and go.’
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