Hiker Ignores Warning Signs, Gets Billed $16.5K for Rescue

A British hiker who ignored barriers and signs warning that trails in Italy's Dolomites had been closed due to the risk of landslides has to cough up $16,500 for a rescue bill. Authorities say the 60-year-old man was rescued by a helicopter after he became distressed by falling rocks, the Guardian reports. Nicola Cherubin, chief of the local alpine rescue service, says the man claimed he didn't see the warning signs in English and Italian when he set off Thursday morning. Cherubin says the rescue required two helicopters because of poor weather.

• Giuseppe Dal Ben, commissioner of the local health authority that dispatched the helicopters, said tourists should "approach the mountains with respect and caution." Helicopters are needed for time-dependent rescues, he said, and it is important to ensure "that they are not used as taxis, endangering not only those who are providing the assistance but those who actually need it."

• The man has Brexit to blame for the hefty bill. Authorities say two Belgian hikers were recently rescued in similar conditions, but their bill was much lower because Belgium is still part of the European Union.
• The British man can still count himself fortunate—extreme heat has caused a larger number of rockslides than usual this year and many tourists have died, some of them slipping from steep paths.
• People seeking cooler weather have flocked to the Dolomites and other parts of the Italian Alps in recent weeks, and authorities say many inexperienced hikers are setting out ill-equipped for mountain conditions, the Telegraph reports. "We've had 83 fatalities and five people missing just in the first month of the summer holidays," the national head of alpine rescue said last week. "That is nearly three fatalities a day. We are carrying out 20% more rescues compared to the average."