More than 250 people were evacuated by helicopter from Austria’s Kaunertal valley on Monday, June 29, after a series of mudslides cut off access to the Kaunertal Glacier, leaving visitors stranded overnight in mountain shelters and restaurants near the Italian border.
The evacuation was carried out by four helicopters from the Austrian Armed Forces and police after three separate mudslides struck the Kaunertal Glacier Road on Sunday, burying the access route in debris and isolating the upper valley. The Kaunertal Glacier, a high-alpine ski area in Tyrol and a member of the Indy Pass network, is typically accessed via the narrow glacier road that winds deep into the valley. After heavy rain and hail triggered slope instability, that road became impassable, cutting off all outbound travel.
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According to Austrian authorities and the Ministry of Defence, around 250 day visitors, excursion guests, and hospitality workers were trapped in the valley after the slides. Some visitors had already been flown out on Sunday for medical reasons, though no injuries were reported from the mudslides themselves. Stranded guests were forced to spend the night in emergency accommodation, including mountain huts and a restaurant in the valley, while rescue teams assessed conditions for evacuation flights.
The mudslides followed a period of intense weather in the Austrian Alps, with heavy rainfall and hailstorms destabilising steep slopes above the glacier road. In some areas, rock and debris flows descended directly onto the roadway, blocking access entirely and cutting the valley off. Officials described multiple “Muren” events — the Alpine term for fast-moving debris flows — which are common in steep, water-saturated mountain terrain following extreme rainfall.
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The Austrian Army deployed four helicopters on Monday to airlift remaining tourists out of the valley, completing the evacuation by midday. A spokesperson from Tyrol’s crisis management centre confirmed that no fatalities or serious injuries occurred, but described the situation as rapidly evolving and highly weather-dependent.
Meteorologists from GeoSphere Austria have warned that the situation in Tyrol remains unstable, with further thunderstorms expected. Additional heavy rain could trigger more mudslides and localised flooding, potentially impacting roads, rail links, and mountain infrastructure across the region. Authorities said monitoring would continue throughout the week as saturated ground conditions persist.
The Kaunertal is a small, sparsely populated valley in western Tyrol, located near the border with South Tyrol, Italy. Fewer than 1,000 people live in the area year-round, but the region sees heavy seasonal tourism due to its glacier skiing and high-alpine terrain.