Two former employees of an adventure sports company are to appear in court on Thursday, in connection with the death of an American tourist, who was killed while bungee jumping.

The former employees of the company, Adventure World - which ceased trading after the incident - are likely to be charged in a civil suit brought by the dead man's relatives.

The 22-year-old plunged to his death last May during a bungee jump organised by Adventure World. A subsequent investigation confirmed that the man had been attached to an elastic cable of the wrong length.

A criminal investigation was later launched against the two staff members involved in organising the jumps in the Bernese Oberland.

Adventure World was also linked to a fatal accident less than a year earlier. In July 1999, 21 people died in a flash flood during a canyoning expedition led by the company.

The two accidents have called into question the responsibilities of companies involved in organising extreme sports activities.

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