A perfect interaction of the rescue forces
True to the motto "luck seldom comes alone", Air Zermatt was able to rescue a person in the Blatten-Belalp region on Tuesday. The woman got lost in the fog, got caught in an avalanche, fell down a hillside, had to spend the wintry night in the open air and still survived. The woman was rescued thanks to the excellent cooperation of the rescue forces.
On Monday evening, a woman was walking from Belalp in the direction of Blatten. Since the woman did not reach her destination, her partner alerted the emergency services. Specialists from the Blatten-Belalp rescue station searched on foot for the missing woman in the area of the Gebidem reservoir. A search by helicopter was not possible due to bad weather. Later that night, the search on foot also had to be abandoned.
On Tuesday morning, rescue specialists with rescue dogs resumed the search for the woman. In addition, a helicopter of the Zurich cantonal police was called in. This is equipped to be able to locate cell phones. But even with this the woman could not be found. However, footprints were spotted on the frozen Gebidem reservoir.
Third persons finally heard the missing woman calling for help on a ledge near the reservoir. An Air Zermatt rescue helicopter was able to rescue the woman by longline from the rocky outcrop on Tuesday midday and fly her to the hospital in Visp. The woman was severely hypothermic, but unharmed.
The missing woman had spent a turbulent night. According to her own account, she got caught in an avalanche on the way from Belalp to Blatten, from which she managed to free herself. Lost, she searched for a safe way. But in doing so, she fell down a hillside. In the end, the woman went to a rocky outcrop near the dam wall of the Gebidem reservoir to call for help.
In addition to the Air Zermatt rescue crew, the Valais and Zurich cantonal police, specialists from the Blatten-Belalp rescue station and rescue dogs were deployed.
The missing person was on a rocky outcrop near the reservoir
A rescue helicopter was able to rescue the woman by longline