Snow operation in Germany and Austria

(B2) German and Austrian forces are engaged in major operations, in the face of heavy snowfall in recent days. The 'Schnee-Chaos' as it is called in Berlin

In Germany, the military disaster alert (milKATAL) has been triggered. Heavy snowfalls have caused road closures, isolation of villages and increased avalanche danger in parts of Bavaria, Baden-Württemberg and Saxony. Nearly 1500 soldiers from various units (in particular from the 23rd mountain brigade '23 Bayern' were engaged on Sunday (January 13) - 1219 already in action, 268 in preparation - according to the latest figures from the Bundeswehr.

In Austria, according to Bundesheer, about 900 soldiers are deployed in six Länder, especially in the Land of Salzburg. Objective: to clear the roads, the accesses, but also the roofs. The difficult weather did not allow helicopter flights every day. On Friday (January 11), 16 helicopters were able to take to the air, carrying out 27 flights for reconnaissance, avalanche blasting, refueling and evacuation missions.

(NGV)