Climbing the Matterhorn wearing light trousers and equally light trainers was costing the lives of two Vietnamese tourists, who were rescued in a state of hypothermia at the end of an operation that lasted over 14 hours.
The episode occurred on the Swiss side of the mountain and, according to the Swiss helicopter company Air Zermatt, the two did not survive the harsh conditions and died from the cold.
The alarm was raised shortly after 7 a.m. Monday morning: "We are in trouble." Bad weather was raging in the area, which prevented a rescue by helicopter or by land for a long time. At 1 p.m., specialists from the Zermatt rescue station were taken by the ski lift company up to an altitude of almost 2,600 meters and from there they continued on foot, exposed to snow, ice, wind and fog.
The two climbers found them at 3,500 meters above sea level, on very difficult terrain, with absolutely inadequate clothing and in a state of hypothermia. Given the weather conditions that still prevented the intervention of the helicopter, the rescuers lowered themselves with double ropes to reach the climbers and bring them back to the normal route, from where they began the descent towards the Hornli Refuge, a place where rescuers and imprudent climbers took shelter.
The helicopter intervened in the morning and brought the entire group back to earth.
(Unioneonline/L)
