14 hours to rescue 2 Vietnamese trapped on a 3,500 m snowy mountain in Switzerland

According to information from the website of Swiss airline Air Zermatt, at around 7:00 a.m. on September 23 (local time), the rescue team in the Zermatt region (Valais state, Switzerland) received an emergency call that two Vietnamese climbers were in trouble on the Matterhorn mountain.

At that time, the weather was so bad that rescue by air or on foot was impossible. At 13:00, three rescuers decided to climb the Matterhorn by road to reach the accident site, facing snow, wind, ice, fog and cold. At an altitude of more than 3,500 m, rescue experts found two climbers in critical condition.

Two Vietnamese people almost risked their lives on a 3,500 m snowy mountain in Switzerland

Two hikers were stranded in difficult terrain below the normal route, suffering from hypothermia and wearing only light shoes and thin pants. Adverse weather conditions made it impossible to evacuate the climbers by helicopter, so the rescue team used a rope system to bring them back to the normal climbing route.

Rescue operation for 2 Vietnamese people trapped on Matterhorn mountain, Switzerland on September 23

The journey down to Hornli Hut was also hampered by snow and ice. At 2am on September 24, a helicopter took off to the Matterhorn and brought the two climbers and rescuers to safety. The two Vietnamese were then medically examined and returned home. The rescue took a total of 14 hours due to the harsh weather conditions.

According to Air Zermatt, the two Vietnamese climbers could have died if there had not been a rescue operation in the freezing weather conditions on the Matterhorn. The Zermatt region is famous for its ski resorts in the Swiss Alps.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/14-tieng-giai-cuu-2-nguoi-viet-mac-ket-tren-nui-tuyet-3500-mo-thuy-si-18524092511510984.htm