The head of Salvamont Argeş, Ion Sandulau, who has also served as the head of the Avalanche Commission in Salvamont Romania since 2006, is “shocked and amazed” that the avalanches that descended on the Capra cabin in Făgăraş did not cause any casualties, News .ro reports.

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• “I am shocked, amazed that the sequence of such avalanches did not lead to any victims. (…) I can tell you that there were six avalanches, two of them huge. Second, I had seen something like this before in early May 1985 when I started going to Fegerash. The fact that there were no victims seems to me to be extremely lucky, which is connected with the fact that it was very late, the first avalanche came at half past eleven (in the evening – not), there was already a blizzard. If it had been during the day, it would have been a tragedy. And the second avalanche came early in the morning, when no one was driving and there was a blizzard,” said Ion Sandulau on Sunday evening.

He explained that the snow had fallen on the entire slope, and one of the avalanches had “leveled” the forest.

Mountain rescuers also brought avalanche search dogs and a drone to the scene to find out if there are snowdrifts at the top of the mountain and if there is a threat of their descent.

“Fortunately, it was not a very high-risk case, we realized that it is possible to work in this area, it is possible to move between the security zone and Capra,” said Ion Sandoulou.

He clarified that some of the tourists wanted to leave the salon by car, not on foot, because they were afraid of new avalanches.

Sandoulou explained that in the last 24 hours on the Balea platform, the newly deposited snow layer exceeded half a meter, and the newly deposited snow layer lay more than 30 centimeters, which means that the snow layer that can be displaced is 80 centimeters.

The first avalanche hit the house on Saturday evening, when tourists were celebrating their birthday. The event took place ten minutes after the cake was served. Tourists said they heard a noise “like a bomb”.

Since October 30, the road leading to the estate has been closed

The head of the emergency department, Raed Arafat, said that if the tourists staying at the Capra cabin broke the rules, according to which the road leading to the accommodation is closed, they not only put their lives in danger, but also put the lives of everyone at risk rescuers who intervened on Sunday to evacuate them.

The police noted that the road to the cottage has been closed since October 30, as evidenced by a sign and barrier.

Under these conditions, the police say they will check how the tourists arrived at the cabin and issue fines if it is found that the restriction has been violated.

If drivers with their cars near the Capra cab violated the ban on driving on Transfăgărăşan in winter, they can receive fines from 870 to 1160 lei, respectively 6-8 penalty points, as well as suspension of driving licenses for 60 days.

PHOTO Anna Dudko|Dreamstime.com

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The operation to evacuate tourists from Capra has ended. 14 employees remained in the cabin that fell under the avalanche