A BRITISH tourist will likely be slapped with a massive bill after he needed to be rescued while skiing.
The man, 20, was saved via helicopter after getting stuck in steep terrain during an off-piste run in the Austrian Alps.
A man has been slapped with a massive fine after being rescued from Vorarlberg in AustriaCredit: Newsflash
The holidaymaker sparked a huge emergency response around midday on April 1 in the popular ski resort of Lech in Vorarlberg, western Austria.
He had ventured away from the marked slopes towards the nearby area of Zug when he got in trouble.
According to police, the inexperienced skier strayed into dangerous, rock-strewn terrain and quickly found himself unable to move either forward or back.
With no emergency equipment and avalanche warning level three in place at the time, the Brit was left stranded on the mountainside and forced to call for help.
Rescue teams were dispatched by police helicopter “Libelle”, which managed to locate the stranded tourist before lowering a rope to bring him to safety.
Fortunately, he escaped the ordeal without injury despite the treacherous conditions.
His misadventure is expected to come at a steep cost.
In Austria, mountain rescues — particularly those involving helicopters — can cost between £3,050 and £4,360.
Under the country’s Security Police Act, authorities are allowed to bill those rescued if they are deemed to have acted with gross negligence — such as ignoring avalanche warnings or heading off-piste without proper equipment.
Helicopter operations alone can cost between £46 and £74 per minute, meaning the final bill for the young skier could quickly mount.
Officials have once again warned skiers not to leave secured pistes, especially amid heightened avalanche risks across parts of the region.
It comes after a British snowboarder, 43, last week.
The man, who has not been named, is thought to have been snowboarding alone off-piste on the slopes of La Plagne.
A spokesman for the Modane mountain rescue unit said: “The victim is thought to have fallen at least one hundred meters (320 feet) on Saturday from a rocky ledge in an off-piste area.
“The emergency services were alerted to the disappearance at around 2.15pm and patrols were sent out.
“Rescuers soon determined that the missing British man had last been seen using the ski lifts in the Bécoin area of La Plagne.”
Emergency services rushed to the scene, but the Brit was declared dead at the scene and his body was airlifted away by helicopter.
Eze Chidiebere Paul
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