Two Swiss ski tour guides on trial over avalanche accident
The trial of two ski tour guides has begun in Switzerland, three and a half years after a fatal avalanche accident in the Bernese Oberland.
Select your language
Generated with artificial intelligence.
Listening:
Two Swiss ski tour guides on trial over avalanche accident
The prosecution has charged both defendents with multiple counts of manslaughter through negligence.
The regional court in Thun is due to hand down its verdict on Friday.
The accident occurred in March 2023 near Gstelliwang in Meiringen. An American woman and a British man, both aged 18, were caught in an avalanche and killed whilst on a ski tour organised by a boarding school.
The prosecution accuses the mountain guide in charge of having chosen a route that was too steep and dangerous for the second descent.
The co-leader is alleged not to have intervened, despite having a say in the matter. Both are thus accused of breaching their duty of care. At the time, the area was classified as having a moderate avalanche risk (level 2+).
More
Swiss AI model ‘listens’ to the mountain to detect avalanches
+ How we produce English news
Translated from German, reviewed by an English Department journalist.
External Content
In compliance with the JTI standards
More: SWI swissinfo.ch certified by the Journalism Trust Initiative
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.