63 deaths in Tyrolean moutains this summer

 By Rebecca Musgrave

This summer, 63 people lost their lives and more than 1,000 people were injured in the Alps in Tyrol, Austria.

As the popularity of the mountains increases it appears so have the casualties. Both numbers have increased in the last year in Tyrol with almost half of all Austrian mountain accidents taking place in the region. Alpine police, mountain rescue and trustees for alpine security have met to discuss the accidents.

According to Hanno Bielek, who is in charge of statistics on the board of trustees for alpine security, the 594 of the 1,066 accidents took place whilst people were walking. Between 1 May and 31 October of this year there were 108 climbing accidents seven of which resulted in deaths. Of the 63 fatalities in the mountains this summer, 38 were walkers. Due to the difficult terrain, putting one foot wrong can lead to the death of even the most experienced mountaineers.