Sledging crash puts German in hospital

A German tourist suffered serious injures in a sledging accident yesterday evening (Thurs).The 38-year-old man came off the illuminated track in Jerzens, Tyrol, and skidded down a 15-metre ravine. He was unconscious when pals discovered him at the bottom of the rocky descent shortly after the incident.The man was transferred to the valley by mountain rescuers. He is recovering in a hospital in Innsbruck. Doctors described his injuries as “serious”, but declined requests to give more details.Earlier this month, a 10-year-old boy from Germany sustained nothing but a cut on his forehead when he crashed into a snow groomer.The holidaymaker, his two brothers and their father were racing down a hill in Krimml, Salzburg, on inflatable plastic tyres when the piste-grooming vehicle suddenly appeared on the slope.Nearly 2,500 children are involved in sledging accidents across Austria every year, according to children’s safety awareness organisation Große schützen Kleine. The institution appealed to parents to equip their sledging kids with helmets.