Overview
- Thomas Plamberger, 36, faces a manslaughter-by-gross-negligence charge over the January death of 33-year-old Kerstin Gurtner near the summit of Austria’s Grossglockner.
- Investigators cite webcam footage and data from phones and sports watches alongside photos and an expert report to reconstruct the night and underpin the indictment.
- Prosecutors allege the pair were stranded from about 8:50 p.m., a police helicopter searched at 10:50 p.m., Alpine Police reached Plamberger at 12:35 a.m., he left Gurtner around 2:00 a.m., and rescue was alerted at roughly 3:30 a.m.
- The indictment highlights planning and equipment failures, including a late start, Gurtner’s soft snowboard boots, and the absence of a bivouac sack or foil blankets in severe wind-chill conditions approaching -20C.
- Plamberger denies wrongdoing through his lawyer, saying he left to seek help and calling the death a tragic accident, while prosecutors assign him guide-level responsibility and say a conviction could bring up to three years in prison.