A 24-year-old mountaineer had an accident on the Hochkalter in the Berchtesgaden Alps and has been wanted by mountain rescuers for three days. The bad weather continues to complicate the search for the man who died. It currently looks as if a search by helicopter is not possible on Tuesday, said a spokesman for the Bavarian Red Cross (BRK). But that could change spontaneously.

The man from Lower Saxony set off on a high alpine tour on Saturday when it snowed on the Hochkalter in Ramsau near Berchtesgaden and then made an emergency call after a fall at an altitude of around 2500 meters. In it, according to the BRK, he said he broke both his arms and hurt his head.

On Monday evening, thanks to the favorable weather, the emergency services were able to search the area from a helicopter with binoculars for the missing 24-year-old until sunset. Specialists then spent half the night evaluating the images from the search flight, but could find no trace of the casualty. A lot of fresh snow has fallen since Saturday, which is estimated to be up to three meters high in the gullies, making them difficult to see, explained the BRK spokesman.

The emergency services are expecting better weather on Wednesday, so that the search with helicopters and drones could continue. It is expected to be sunny on Thursday. Then a so-called Recco buoy could also be used, with which semiconductors from electronic devices such as mobile phones or laptops could also be located, even if their batteries were empty. The spokesman said that the greatest hopes are currently being placed on this.