The Mountain Rescue and Intervention Groups of the Civil Guard (GREIM) have closed the summer campaign -June 1 to September 30- in the province of Huesca with a balance of 11 people dead in natural spaces (one less than in 2022 ), 236 people injured and a 13% decrease in the total number of interventions compared to the previous summer.
This is good news after several years of increasing trend in the number of accidents. In total, the 65 specialists that the Civil Guard has distributed throughout Huesca, Jaca, Benasque, Boltaña and Panticosa carried out 306 rescue operations in which they treated 445 people. This is a notable decrease compared to the 353 interventions and 495 mountaineers evacuated the previous year, a season of record numbers due in part to the massive arrival of tourists after the end of the pandemic.
For those responsible for the emergency teams, the reiteration of advice to visitors has been decisive in reducing accidents in the Pyrenees and the Guara mountain range. “It seems that the calls for caution are taking hold,” said Lieutenant Baín Gutiérrez, head of the Jaca Mountain Area, in the presentation this Monday of the final balance.
The rescue group that has carried out the most interventions is that of Boltaña, which is in charge of the Sobrarbe region, with 92 rescues. They have been followed by Benasque (83), Panticosa (56), Huesca (40) and Jaca (35).
The final balance clarifies that the profile of the rescued person corresponds to that of a man (63.3% of cases) of an age between 41 to 50 years (19.5%) and that, as a significant fact, it overestimates their possibilities and do not take into account the risks involved in undertaking a risky activity (53.1%).
In this sense, the subdelegate of the Government in the province, Carlos Campo, has recalled the importance of "not being overconfident and having the appropriate equipment for the activity that is going to be carried out." Likewise, he thanked "the extraordinary performance" of the Civil Guard in its rescue activity, "a work that entails preparation, effort and risk that deserve the recognition of the entire society."
The activities that caused the greatest number of interventions were hiking (52.2%), canyoning (14.3%) and progressions on steep terrain (12.7%), while the most common type of accident was tripping and falls on flat surfaces (35%), followed by physical problems of various kinds (16%) and vertical falls (8.5%).
In relation to the number of deaths, it was highlighted that, despite the extremely dry summer climate, the intense rains that were recorded weeks ago caused four of the victims to occur in the ravines due to sudden changes in flow in the channels.
Among the most complicated rescues is that of a speleologist from Madrid who spent more than thirty hours last August trapped 400 meters deep in the Portillo de Larra chasm, in the municipality of Ansó.
Looking ahead to the coming months, the agents asked for caution, since autumn brings “heavy rains like last week.” For this reason, they advise anyone planning a getaway to inform themselves about the situation through official channels such as Aemet and to follow at all times the recommendations issued by the Civil Guard and other emergency services.
