Drunk guide abandons 60 tourists hiking in the Austrian Alps

A group of 60 Hungarian holidaymakers were forced to call emergency services from the side of a mountain when their drunk guide deserted them during a hike in the Austrian Alps.

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The tourists had planned a tour on the Rax Mountain in Lower Austria on Saturday but by lunchtime one of the hikers called for help saying that his family was lost and that the guide was drunk and couldn't be found, the Local reports.

Following the distress call, the Austrian Mountain Rescue Services were sent to the area to take the group back to safety as weather conditions worsened.

Once they arrived in the valley with the tour group, they ran into the guide who had hiked down the mountain by himself.

The Daily Telegraph reports that the guide denied drinking alcohol and as there were no injuries, he was not breathalysed.

Gerhard Rieglthalner, a mountaineering expert for the police, told Krone newspaper: "The man was unprofessional and he was not a trained mountain guide."