Twenty-two persons have died so far during the hiking season in Slovenia, the rescue service said on Friday.

In nearly 400 interventions, rescuers helped 216 injured persons and persons who suffered a heart attack.

The emergency service warned hikers that they must have a plan and the necessary equipment and that they should not overestimate their physical abilities.

Up to million and a half people visit Slovenian mountains per year, and on average about thirty people are involved in a fatal accident.

In addition to injuries and deaths related to skiing, parachuting or powered paragliding, landslides can also be fatal to mountaineers, and five to ten deaths are due to a heart attack.

Mountains are part of Slovenia’s tourist offer promoted by politicians, especially Prime Minister Janez Jansa, a keen mountaineer.

This year, ahead of the start of the Slovenian Presidency of the Council of the EU, he led his Austrian counterpart Sebastian Kurz and Josep Borrell, High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, to the highest mountain peak in Slovenia, Triglav.