Three girls dead in natural disasters in Carinthia

The misfortune of St. Andrä will never be forgotten. Two little girls, Christina and Eva, were killed by a tree during the devastating storm. On Wednesday, two broken families had to say goodbye to their beloved girls and bury them.

Child killed by branch in Mauthner Gorge
But it is not the first time that a child in Carinthia has fallen victim to a force of nature. Exactly three years ago, in August 2019, an 80-meter branch fell into the Mauthner gorge near Kötschach, killing a four-year-old holiday girl who was on vacation with her parents. The sadness is and remains immeasurable. But can anyone be held responsible for such disasters?

“It’s difficult,” explains Markus Kitz of the Klagenfurt prosecutor’s office. “Because there must be concrete omissions. But then we mainly do research into involuntary manslaughter.”

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The proceedings in the Gailtal were eventually discontinued. Even the council as a security guard could not be expected to constantly check the trees for safety. The accident was therefore classified by the public prosecutor as an “unforeseen natural event”. Whether this also applies to the latest drama from Lavanttal is still open.

“A tree expert checked the condition of the roots and branches.” This is to assess whether the cruel death of the children could have been prevented. “The expertise is not yet available, the studies are ongoing,” says Kitz. The lido in St. Andrä will also remain closed, because cleaning up is time-consuming (updated information can be found online).