Austrian authorities have identified 33-year-old Kerstin Gurtner as the woman who frozen to death on the highest mountain in AustriaGrossglockner, and her partner, 39-year-old Thomas Plumberger, is now charged by the prosecution with manslaughter, local media write.
Gurtner, who described herself online as a lover of winter and mountains, was an inexperienced hiker. Her partner Plumberger, an experienced alpinist, allegedly took her on a dangerous night climb to a height of 3,657 meters in sub-zero temperatures, for which she was not prepared. Her body was found less than 45 meters from the summit.
Prosecution charges
The Public Prosecutor’s Office in Innsbruck believes that Plamberger, as the organizer of the ascent, was responsible for her safety. “Around 2:00 a.m., the accused left his girlfriend unprotected, exhausted, hypothermic and disoriented about 50 meters below the summit cross of the Grossglockner. The woman froze to death. Since the accused, unlike his girlfriend, was already very experienced with alpine high mountain tours and had planned the tour, he was held responsible as the tour guide,” the prosecutor’s office said in a statement.
Reconstruction of the tragic night
During the fatal ascent, temperatures dropped to around -20°C. Prosecutors claim that Plumberger did not call for help even when they saw a police helicopter nearby around 10:50 p.m. Investigators say he didn’t make the first 911 call until 1:35 a.m., after which he put his phone on silent.
According to the indictment, just 30 minutes later he left Gurtner on the icy slope without using the emergency blankets they had with them. A surveillance camera captured him descending alone at 2:30 a.m., far from where he left his partner. He did not contact the emergency services again until an hour later, at 3:30.
Defense and trial
Plumberger’s lawyer, Kurt Jelinek, denies the allegations. In a statement to the Daily Mail, Kerstin Gurtner called the death a “tragic, fatal accident.” The trial is scheduled to begin in February. If he is found guilty of manslaughter, Plumberger faces a sentence of up to three years in prison, Index.hr writes.
(TIP/Photo: Facebook)
