Tourist lost on La Digue found and rescued |22 August 2022

Mr Kaltenbrunner in the company of the four civilians who located him

The 63-year-old Austrian visitor who got lost on a La Digue trail last week has been found safe and sound and rescued.

Andreas Kaltenbrunner, who was holidaying on La Digue and was reported missing with the police on Wednesday August 17 at 9am after he had failed to return to the establishment he was staying,  was found safe and sound on Saturday afternoon.

The La Digue based police had mounted a search and rescue operation for Mr Kaltenbrunner the same day he was reported missing.

Also involved in the operation were the marine police, members of the Seychelles Fire & Rescue Services Agency (SFRSA), and several other civilians.

After several failed attempts to locate Mr Kaltenbrunner, additional help from the military on Mahé as well as from the police was sought to beef up the search and rescue party on La Digue.

It was on Saturday afternoon that a group of civilians who were assisting the search party in the operation found Mr Kaltenbrunner in a forested and rocky area between Grand Anse and Belle Vue.  

Meanwhile the police are advising owners of guest houses and other tourist establishments to inform their clients on the dangers of venturing on the trails on their own without the guidance of a certified guide.

This comes after an increase has been recorded in the number of incidents of tourists getting lost while venturing on trails.

According to the police, this has a negative impact on their operational plan and costs a lot to maintain a search and rescue operation for several days.

The police would like to sincerely thank all their officers as well as the agencies, organisations and civilians who had voluntarily given their time to take part in this search and rescue operation which lasted several days.

Adapted from a police communiqué in Creole