Two German citizens and one Hungarian citizen, aged 17 and 18, travelled by train from Germany to Lienz for a multi-day hike in the Schober group, in the district of Spittal an der Drau in Carinthia.
On Wednesday they left the Wangenitzseehütte at 2,508 metres and headed toward the Petzeck, which rises to 3,238 metres. Worsening weather led them to abandon the route. They told relatives they were turning back and would descend, after which contact with them stopped.
Relatives tried several times to reach them without success. By Thursday evening they alerted the police because they feared an accident. A search flight by the police helicopter Libelle found the three in a hut. They had been unable to call their parents because there was no mobile network coverage.
The teenagers walked down to the valley on their own and were unhurt. An alpine police officer from the Alpine Operations Group Spittal/Drau took part in the operation, and the Heiligenblut mountain rescue service stood by.