Rome, 5 September 2021 – The photos tell of the love for the mountains, climbing, smiles, friendship, shared passion, the spectacle of nature. The numbers of the Alpine rescue they remind us of what cannot be seen and shed light on those who never return home. There are dozens of people. In the archives they are indicated with a word, missing. Even 90 those delivered to the statistics of 2020. The previous two years had ended with 61 people never found, in 2015 there were 49 missing. In short, 2020, the year of the lockdown, is confirmed as that of the all-time high.
Starting from the number of victims, 465. This year, in August, there were more than 200. Think: it is as if every day they had concentrated 28 speeches with 118 rescuers in action, the final bill is mind-boggling, 10,279 missions covered by 43,247 men. In difficulty, almost once in two, are the hikers. The fall and the slip are confirmed as the first cause of an accident. The Alpine Rescue statistics are also a snapshot of how, over the years, the approach to the mountains has changed. If we go back to 2006, we find ‘just’ 5,568 missions.
The identikit
But who are the people being rescued? They were in the mountains to do mainly hiking, then ski touring or mountain biking. They mostly move up rough terrain, are victims of fall or slip, sometimes of a sickness; in 356 almost have been betrayed since bad weather, 23 were overwhelmed by a landslide, 21 by an avalanche. Seven times out of ten we talk about men, that of the gods 50-60years is the age group most at risk, followed by 20-30 year olds and 40-50 year olds.
The stories
Searches for missing persons often involve entire communities. Because men who love the mountains are unlikely to be alone. The appeal launched by Elena Panciera to find her husband Federico Lugato, 39 years old, who on Thursday 26 August left for an excursion
in Val Zoldana, in Belluno: he never came back. The best experts, from Italy and beyond, responded generously. People who know the mountains and technology, who supported the ‘institutional’ relief efforts. Everyone tried to make themselves useful, scanning the woods. A summit will be held tomorrow afternoon in the prefecture to decide how to continue the research. “I think they will not be able to stop suddenly – he reasons Camillo de Pellegrin, mayor of Val di Zoldo -. I think it is reasonable to continue for a few days, even if the rescuers are very tried. “Sometimes the mountain closes in mystery, and the mystery lasts for years. Adriano Duse, disappeared on 8 May 2016 after a trip to the Friulian Dolomites. And the mystery was solved by another hiker Alfio Farabbi, 55 years old, who died from Perugia on 12 July. This morning, climbing the Sibillini mountains a Ussita (Macerata), the man found the body and sounded the alarm.
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