Hiker’s dog keeps him alive after he broke his ankle and was stranded in the freezing Italian Alps for seven nights
- The man was hiking with his dog Ash in the mountains in north-eastern Italy
- The 33-year-old was left stranded in the wild after falling and breaking his ankle
- The hiker said that Ash had helped him survive the seven icy nights in the alps
- He was airlifted to safety by rescuers who spotted the man from a helicopter
A dog has helped its hiker owner survive seven nights in the freezing Italian alps after the man broke his ankle and was stranded in the wild.
The 33-year-old man was rescued on Thursday after he was spotted lying near a stream in the mountains north of Udine, north-eastern Italy.
He said his mixed-breed dog Ash had kept him alive through the ice nights without much food or water.
A dog named Ash has helped its hiker owner survive seven nights in the freezing Italian alps after the man broke his ankle and was stranded in the wild. Ash is being pictured with a rescuer
The 33-year-old man was rescued on Thursday after he was spotted lying near a stream in the mountains of Julian Alps in Udine, north-eastern Italy. Pictured, rescuers are airlifted out of the mountains with the injured hiker, who is being wrapped in a sleeping bag (pictured)
The unnamed hiker, from the north-eastern city of Trieste, had begun his hike a few days earlier, spending nights in various mountain huts and makeshift shelters, as he does every year with the company of his dog.
He fell and broke his ankle while travelling through a part of the Venzonassa Valley, which is unreachable by mobile phone.
Although unable to move around, the badly injured man managed to drag himself to a stream and get some water there.
His dog Ash had stayed with him and helped him survive, the man said.
The Italian hiker was left stranded for seven nights after he fell and broke his ankle while travelling in the mountains north of Udine, north-eastern Italy
After he had not returned on Monday as expected, the hiker’s girlfriend alerted the Friuli mountain and cave rescue service (CNSAS), who revealed the incident in a Facebook post.
Rescuers in a helicopter spotted the hiker lying on the ground near the forest track. He was found covered in leaves with his foil blanket nearby.
The man was said to be conscious when the rescuers arrived, but he had suffered serious injuries.
Pictures show the rescue staff tending to the injured man by wrapping him in a sleeping bag before airlifting him out of the mountains.
He is now being treated at a local hospital while Ash is being looked after by the rescue team.