19-year-old dies while climbing mountain at night in Austrian Alps

©Peter Burdon via Unsplash

A German young man of 19 was killed last night while climbing the 2,962-meter-high Zugspitze in the Austrian Alps.

The teenager started the ascent of Germany's highest mountain right on the border with Austria together with a peer from Ehrwald.

Around 3 a.m., however, he slipped while crossing a snow field. The German climber fell 250 meters down a very steep and rocky terrain. He did not survive the fall.

The victim suffered fatal injuries and died on the side of the mountain. The friend alerted the emergency services. He was picked up by a rescue helicopter, while another helicopter located and picked up the lifeless body of his companion.

The German duo wanted to experience the sunset while climbing, only to admire the sunrise at the summit of the nearly 3,000-meter-high Zugspitze, German media Bild reports.

According to the police of the Austrian state of Tyrol, the two were not properly equipped for the winter conditions in the high mountains. After all, there was still a lot of snow on the Zugspitze.

At 2,962 meters, the Zugspitze is Germany's highest mountain. It is located in southern Bavaria, on the border with Austria, in the heart of the Bavarian Alps and the Austrian Alps. The summit offers spectacular views of hundreds of peaks in Germany, Austria, Italy and even Switzerland. With good visibility, you can admire some 400 mountain peaks in the area.

©Peter Burdon via Unsplash - illustration image from the peak of the Zugspitze