On Saturday, 17 October, the German family's parents turned back during a walk from Dobbiaco and let their sons, aged 13 and 16, continue alone toward the Bonnerhütte at 2,340 metres.
The Bonnerhütte had ended its season on 11 October, and the family had not checked whether it was open before the boys arrived to find the door barred.
The brothers tried to spend the night outside the hut with temperatures close to zero. One vomited, and they called their parents, who alerted emergency services. The call reached rescuers around 1 a.m. on Sunday, 18 October.
Alpine rescuers found both boys hypothermic, brought them to the hospital in San Candido, and both were later discharged.
The rescue service described the episode as showing great recklessness, while noting that such irresponsible behaviour is rare.
A German family on holiday in South Tyrol set out on a hike from Dobbiaco on Saturday, 17 October. After a few hours the parents turned back, but they allowed their sons, aged 13 and 16, to carry on alone toward the Bonnerhütte at 2,340 metres. The parents believed the boys were experienced enough for the route, yet nobody had checked whether the hut was open. The hut had closed for the season on 11 October, before the walk began. The plan was for the boys to spend the night there and return the next day.
When the brothers reached the Bonnerhütte they found the door barred, and with darkness falling they could not safely go back down. They tried to camp outside the building, where temperatures were close to zero and some thermometers had dropped below freezing. Their clothing was not suited to a night outdoors at that altitude, and they had climbed more than 1,000 metres to get there. After a while one of the boys began to feel sick and vomited, and the two of them called their parents. The parents alerted emergency services, and the call for help reached rescuers around 1 a.m. on Sunday, 18 October.
Members of the Alpine rescue service of the Upper Pustertal valley reached the hut in the early hours and found both boys suffering from hypothermia. Rescuers brought them down to a safe point and then took them to the hospital in San Candido. Both were treated there until they were stable. Both were later discharged from hospital. Rescuers described the episode as showing great recklessness and said that such irresponsible behaviour is, fortunately, rare.
Rescuers described the parents' conduct as showing great carelessness, and the family had not verified the hut's opening hours before setting out. The hut's own website listed the end of its season as 11 October, which means the closure was publicly posted. Fanpage reported that letting teenagers continue a walk alone is not in itself a crime under Italian law. The same outlet said the penal provision on abandoning minors covers children under 14 or people unable to look after themselves, and that no investigation had been opened.
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The two boys were sent on alone after their parents turned back during a walk toward the Bonnerhütte, a hut that had already shut for the season. Rescuers reached them around 1 a.m. on Sunday, 18 October.
AI text based on reports by Notícias ao Minuto, 20minutes, iefimerida.gr and other publishers. Published .