Shock in Italy: two mountaineers froze to death in the Alps

A new tragedy strikes mountaineering in Italy after this weekend two young people lost their lives climbing the Monte Rosa Alps, a mountainous formation in northern Italy that is visited by thousands of tourists every year , not only for mountaineering but also for skiing. The victims are two women, Martina Svilpo and Paola Viscardi, who had already made the crossing on other occasions, but this time they encountered a thunderstorm.

Martina Svilpo was 29 and originally from Crevoladossola, while Paola Viscardi, a 28-year-old teacher, lived in Trontano. Both had made several climbs to various peaks, so they were amateurs of mountaineering although they practiced it as a hobby, and had even climbed Monte Rosa.

The Italians started the ascent with the expert Valerio Zolla, 27, sole survivor, seriously injured in the hands from the cold and hospitalized in a clinic in Switzerland: “In five minutes the weather changed and the storm blocked us at high altitude. I remember the cold, so cold, I took off my gloves to give them to one of the two girls. I did everything to help the rescuers, ”he declared as published in the newspaper. The imprint.

The group got stranded due to a storm on Saturday shortly after 2 p.m. when they were at an altitude of 4,150 meters. Immediately they called the emergency number, but the rescuers could not approach the scene by helicopter due to the strong winds, they also lost communication and it was then difficult for them to know where they were. .

At 7:30 p.m. they were able to contact Zolla again, who gave more details about where they were trapped and there lThe Central Única del Soccorso decided to send a specialized rescue team of 17 people, although due to bad weather the experts took a long time to reach the area. “It was even difficult to breathe in the storm”, commented one of those who participated in the expedition.

At around 9:00 p.m., the rescue team arrived, but a few minutes later one of the women died because she couldn’t stand the low temperatures. The other was taken to a shelter 700 meters away where a doctor tried to save her but was unable to resuscitate her. At midnight, the helicopter was finally able to land and Valerio Zolla was transported to a Swiss hospital.

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