US EditionMan on Trial After Leaving Girlfriend Who Died on Austrian Mountain
Thomas Plamberger faces manslaughter charges after leaving his girlfriend alone in extreme cold with nine alleged safety failures causing her hypothermia and death, prosecutors said.
- The court in Innsbruck began proceedings on Thursday over the Grossglockner death, with Thomas P, identified by Austrian media, denying gross negligent manslaughter charges.
- As the more experienced climber, the man on trial is accused of planning errors including starting two hours late, lacking emergency bivouac gear, and allowing unsuitable snowboard soft boots, state prosecutors in Innsbruck say.
- Around 20:50 the couple became stuck and a helicopter passed overhead around 22:50, while webcam footage from foto-webcam.eu shows his torchlit descent before he called mountain police at 00:35 on 19 January.
- Der Standard warned of a possible paradigm shift for mountain sports, as the case raises when personal risk-taking crosses into criminal liability and sparks debate in mountain-climbing communities.
- Severe winds and subzero windchill halted night rescue attempts as strong winds up to 74km/h and temperatures of −8C with a −20 windchill prevented helicopter rescue, prosecutors say he left her at 02:00 and alerted rescuers only at 03:30 without using protective gear.
61 Articles
61 Articles
Climber accused of leaving girlfriend to die on Austria’s tallest mountain goes on trial
By Sophie Tanno, CNN (CNN) — A man accused of leaving his girlfriend to freeze to death on Austria’s tallest mountain is set to go on trial on Thursday, in a case that could have major implications for mountain climbers and how liable they are for the safety of companions. The 36-year-old man, named in local media as Thomas P., is accused of having left his 33-year-old girlfriend, Kerstin G., alone as he went to seek help on Austria’s Grossglock…
A couple climbs the Großglockner - but for the woman the tour ends fatally, just below the summit she freezes. In Innsbruck her partner is on trial from today. The verdict could have a signal effect. By A. Bachmann.
More than a year after a 33-year-old woman froze to death on Austria's highest mountain, her boyfriend will go on trial on Thursday charged with manslaughter, the BBC reports. The woman, who has been...
Kerstin Gurtner was left to die by her boyfriend Thomas Plamberger. Now Plamberger is being tried for her death – but he receives unexpected support from Gurtner's mother. – It is unfair how Kerstin's boyfriend is being treated, says Gertraud Gurtner to the German Die Zeit.
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