Trial witnesses say canyoning accident was inevitable
The first witnesses to take the stand at the canyoning trial agreed that flash floods could rip through the Saxet Brook every few years.
Based on the large number of tourists taken through the stream each day in summer, the testimony from the four expert witnesses on Thursday made it clear that an accident like the one that claimed 21 lives in 1999 was eventually bound to happen.
But the witnesses were divided on whether to place the guilt on the eight defendants from the company, Adventure World, which led the fateful trip, or on insufficient public knowledge of the consequences of such a storm.
The most dramatic testimony was provided by Markus Gerber, the local fire chief who was among the first to see bodies being washed downstream.
Gerber described how he rushed to the brook to observe the height of the floodwater, where he first spotted the bodies.
He added that flooding occurred every year and recalled how the village itself had been flooded in 1987.
He said it was common knowledge in the local community of Wilderswil that storms often caused a rapid rise in the water level and resulted in flash flooding.
He also told the court that a year or two before the accident he had warned the managers of Adventure World that the Saxet Brook was dangerous.
Radar images
Gerber also said that radar pictures available on the Internet on the day in question clearly showed the intensity of the rainfall in the catchment area. During the first three days of the trial, the defendants admitted they did not consult on-line weather reports.
Otto von Allmen, a policeman who took part in the preliminary investigation because of his work as a certified mountain guide and canyoning expert, told the court that Adventure World should have followed a simple rule used by mountain guides, and that is “not to enter a canyon during a storm”.
It was a very different picture to the one painted by two expert witnesses called to testify earlier in the day on behalf of the defence.
They – a leading member of the Swiss Alpine Club and a hydrologist – based their testimony on studies conducted in the Saxet Valley shortly after the accident.
They said Adventure World could not have anticipated the speed and amount of water contained in the flash flood that killed the tourists and guides, since such a phenomenon had only been documented at the time within small circles of the scientific community.
They added that a change in the water colour and a rise in the water level, two aspects which the prosecution have focused on in the proceedings, were not signs of an impending flash flood.
Followed standard safety procedures
They also said the guides of Adventure World followed safety procedures that were standard in the industry.
However, they admitted that based on today’s knowledge, no one should be allowed in the Saxet Brook when a storm is brewing in the area.
The judge cancelled the appearance of a final witness, the manager of a rival extreme sports company, after he was found to have been present in the courtroom listening to the experts’ testimonies.
The judge said this may have prejudiced his own testimony. He had been considered a key witness since he reportedly called off a trip on the day in question because of the storm.
The proceedings are set to continue on Friday when an Australian survivor of the canyoning trip is called to the stand.
by Dale Bechtel in Interlaken
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