Hannes Trinkl lucky to surive logging accident in Austria

Hannes Trinkl “lucky to surive” logging accident in AustriaSALZBURG, Austria – Former Austrian downhill world champion Hannes Trinkl was critically injured Tuesday in a logging accident that could have claimed his life, police said.

Trinkl was injured while logging wood in a forest near his hometown of St. Pankraz and “was lucky to survive an accident with badly broken legs and bruises all over his body,” local police said in a statement.

Trinkl, 36, was rescued from the steep and forested region about 275 kilometers (175 miles) southwest of Vienna by helicopter and rushed to a Salzburg hospital.

Trinkl won downhill gold at the 2001 World Championships in St. Anton and retired from the circuit at the end of last season.

–The Associated Press