Tragic mountain accident Father falls to his death on family tour - son is struck by lightning

In Austria, an alpinist fell to his death in front of his son. When the young man alerted the rescue services, he was struck by lightning.

A tragic accident occurred during a mountain tour on the Donnerkogel in Austria, in which a 61-year-old Hungarian died. The tourist was hiking with his 25-year-old son when they were surprised by a sudden thunderstorm.

Fearing a lightning strike, the father released his safety catch and fell several hundred meters over steep terrain to his death. The son had to witness his father's death, as ORF learned.

Despite a bad weather forecast, the 61-year-old and his son had decided to climb the challenging via ferrata to the Donnerkogel. The storm broke in the early afternoon.

After the fall, the son immediately alerted the rescue services. While he was waiting, he was suddenly struck by lightning and suffered injuries of indeterminate severity. He was taken to hospital.

The mountain rescue team and Salzburg air police were quickly on the scene, but were only able to recover the father's lifeless body. The accident victim was a vacation guest who was climbing a via ferrata for the first time, while his son was an experienced mountaineer.