The ball is back in Austria: the case of a group of 99 German students who got into trouble in the Kleinwalsertal at the beginning of June and had to be rescued is now back at the prosecutor’s office in Feldkirch. The German prosecutor’s office refused to take over the investigation.
The group, made up of 99 12- to 14-year-olds and eight companions from a secondary school in Maxdorf in Rhineland-Palatinate, was on an unsigned tour of the narrow Heuberggrat on June 7, which police say “definitely requires a fear of heights”. walking ability and experience in alpine terrain”. , fell into mountain distress. There was a massive rescue operation, two helicopters were involved. The costs of deploying the mountain rescue service amounted to more than 13,000 euros, which was then borne by the Land Rhineland-Palatinate. The case had made national headlines and a lack of understanding.
In June, after a criminal complaint and ex officio, the public prosecutor in Frankenthal launched a procedure on suspicion of negligent bodily harm in office against the teacher responsible, according to their spokesman and chief of public prosecutor Hubert Ströber at the APA. The prosecutor’s office in Feldkirch sent their findings to their colleagues in the Palatinate in July and asked them to take over the prosecution.
‘Public danger in Austria worded differently’
His authority, however, had to deny this request. “The public risk is different and broader in Austria,” Ströber explained the different legal situation. Because, according to the final report, neither students nor teachers were injured, there was also no physical injury in the office, according to the head of the authority.
The proceedings against the teacher would therefore be stopped, which happened at the end of August. “No criminal law has been broken here. The facts that were communicated did not give us the opportunity to take criminal action,” said Ströber. It is now up to the Austrian authorities how to proceed. Heinz Rusch, spokesman for the prosecutor’s office in Feldkirch, said on request that Feldkirch is now continuing the investigation. The duration is currently unforeseeable.
That applies in Austria, that applies in Germany
In Austria, anyone who by negligence endangers the life or limb “of a large number of people or for the property of others” must face up to one year in prison or a fine, in serious cases up to three years or six years in prison. In Germany, offenses that are dangerous to the public include arson, traffic disruption or causing an explosion or flood. Such a situation in Kleinwalsertal is not covered.
Source: Krone
I am Ida Scott, a journalist and content author with a passion for uncovering the truth. I have been writing professionally for Today Times Live since 2020 and specialize in political news. My career began when I was just 17; I had already developed a knack for research and an eye for detail which made me stand out from my peers.
