On Saturday, two ice climbers from Austria were caught in an avalanche in the Ortler region near Sulden, South Tyrol. They fell approximately 300 meters down a rock face and sustained severe injuries. The climbers had ascended the Vertainspitze and were about 100 meters below the summit when the incident occurred. One regained consciousness briefly and managed to call emergency services. Both were transported in critical condition to the hospital in Bolzano.

After regaining consciousness, the injured climber initially had no mobile phone reception. He had to drag his unconscious companion a short distance downhill before he could alert the rescue teams. The unconscious climber required resuscitation upon arrival due to hypothermia. Both climbers were severely hypothermic. The rescue operation involved two helicopters and the Sulden mountain rescue team.