[en] The subthreshold production of neutral pions was studied in the reactions ²⁴Mg(α,π⁰)X at 43 MeV .A and ²⁴Mg(¹⁶O,π⁰)X at 24 and 33 MeV .A. The energies and emission angles of the two coincident photons from the π⁰-decay were measured with a lead glass shower detector. The cross sections of 3.5 and 6.6 nb from the ¹⁶O-induced reactions are compatible with other experiments in this energy region. For the α-induced reaction a production cross section of 1.3 nb was found. Here, only 22 MeV above the absolute threshold, the pion emission from an excited Δ-nucleon hole state is strongly suppressed. The differential cross sections at very backward angles are by an order of magnitude bigger than the yields at 90 pointing to a strong absorption of the produced pions by the larger target nucleus. (orig.)