An Irishman luckily survived a 60-metre plunge down “ice, snow and rocks” in Argentina , just days before an Irishwoman separately lost her life in an avalanche in the country. At around 3pm on Thursday, August 29, an Irish tourist had been hiking along the trail to Laguna de Los Tres, a stunning glacial lake located in Argentine Patagonia, when they suffered a fall before a tree finally stopped them. The man suffered acute hip pain which stopped him from walking, but thankfully a number of tourists were nearby to offer assistance, with one seeking out a guide from the national park who had a radio, which allowed them to contact a rescue team at around 5:40pm.
READ MORE: Irish woman dies in Argentina avalanche horror READ MORE: Body of missing Irish man, 39, found in Sardinia The dispatched rescue team reached the injured tourist at around 8:20pm, finding him with two other people who had provided help and stayed by his side. The tourist, who was in a lot of pain in their left hip and leg, was evacuated from the area, being brought to a meeting point where an ambulance was waiting to bring them to El Chaltén Health Post. All in all, the rescue took around seven hours with 15 people poured into the situation, in addition to the six people who assisted him at first before the rescue crew arrived.
The trail where the accident took place is around 12 kilometres from the nearest town and has no mobile coverage. Every autumn and winter the trails are full of mud, water and ic.