Overview

• On July 13 near Hohenbrunn, the 66-year-old Austrian climbed a live high-voltage mast and caught fire from electrical arcing that destroyed his gloves, backpack and binoculars.
• Fire brigades from Hohenbrunn and Ottobrunn called in Munich’s professional fire brigade height rescue group and an air ambulance after finding the blaze beyond the reach of ladder trucks.
• Before specialized rescuers arrived, the severely burned man descended the roughly 50-meter mast on his own and was immediately treated by paramedics at the scene.
• The falconer was airlifted to a Munich hospital, where he remains in critical condition with extensive burn injuries.
• Munich’s Kommissariat 13 has opened an inquiry into his unexplained ascent and plans to interview him once his medical condition stabilizes.