Pensioner survives mountain fall

A retiree from Bavaria who survived 6 days trapped in an icy crevasse in Austria has been transferred to a hospital in the Upper Palatinate.
The 70-year-old retired craft worker fell into a crevasse whilst hiking in Schrankfogel, Austria. Rescuers were only able to free him 6 days after the fall and are calling his survival 'a miracle'.

The man was transferred successfully to a hospital nearby his hometown of Schmidmühlen on Monday, where he is to undergo further treatment. He is in a weakened condition due to loss of muscle mass during his entrapment and is also being treated "for frostbite on his feet," said the deputy director of the University Hospital of Innsbruck, Volker Wenzel. The man's kidneys also sustained damage due to drinking contaminated glacier water.

The mountaineer was hiking at the beginning of August on a glacier in the Stubai Alps when he fell 20 meters down into a crevasse. Immediately after the rescue, the man was taken to the Innsbruck Clinic before being transferred to his current location. The Retiree's rescuers have expressed amazement that the elderly man was able to survive a week at sometimes freezing temperatures. Despite suffering physical injuries, the man is reported to be of "sound mind" and doctors expect a full recovery with no lasting side effects.