Mountain deaths down this summer

Vienna. Fewer people were killed in Austrian mountains this year, new figures show. Police said on Tuesday 139 people had died in the mountains from 15 May to 31 October - a 22 per cent drop from the figure of 177 during the 2008 summer season. Six times as many men, 119, died as women, 20, during this year’s summer season, it said. Police announced 77 of the deaths had occurred during hiking and mountain climbing, and 15 per cent or 21 from forest work, traffic accidents and suici- des. Half of the fatalities were the result of heart/cir- culatory problems, with falls the second biggest cause of deaths.

Printausgabe vom 03.11.2009