A Polish tourist died on Sunday after falling with an avalanche from near Żółta Turnia into the Pańszczyca Valley, TVN24 reported, citing TOPR, the Tatra Mountain Volunteer Search and Rescue service.
TOPR said the man’s companion alerted rescuers at 11:45 a.m. A helicopter crew reached the Pańszczyca Valley despite strong winds and deployed rescuers, who found avalanche debris in a gully below Żółta Turnia and a backpack protruding from the snow. The tourist was about 30 centimetres below the surface and showed no signs of life after he was recovered, according to TOPR. His body was flown to Zakopane and his companion was evacuated.
The Tatras were under level-one avalanche danger that day. TOPR nevertheless warned that strong winds had built dangerous deposits of snow, poorly bonded to the ground, near ridges, in concave terrain and in gullies. Its warning matters because a low regional rating is not an all-clear for terrain where wind has concentrated unstable snow.
TOPR’s account does not identify what triggered the avalanche or describe the tourist’s experience, equipment or decisions. The reported conditions explain why local danger could persist under a level-one rating; they do not assign a cause for this fatal accident.
Sources
- TVN24 · Source date: 2026-11-15
Independent editorial content. WUA is not affiliated with any political party. 2026-11-15