Boy seriously injured

Horrific accident during school outing on a farm

The eight-year-old was seriously injured. He had to be treated in hospital.

(Bild: zVg)

A Klagenfurt elementary school in shock: an eight-year-old was almost scalped in a dramatic incident. His hair got caught in a machine.

A Klagenfurt family experienced a real nightmare last week. As on any other day, their eight-year-old son said goodbye to Stefanie D. on Friday before he had to go to school. A trip to a farm near St. Veit was on the agenda that day. At the time, nobody could have guessed that it would end in a horrific accident.

Eight-year-old literally scalped
The mother's account is shocking: "The children visited a mill that was being put into operation. My son's long hair must have gotten into it somehow." The eight-year-old was literally scalped and had to be stitched at the top of his head. What remains is a 17-centimeter seam.

"As part of the scalp was missing, the surgeon had to tighten the skin a lot. The hope now is that the skin will still be well supplied with blood and grow back," says the mother, who fears that the accident could be swept under the carpet and trivialized - or even blamed on her injured child.

The Education Directorate is now tasked with investigating whether the duty of supervision was breached. A criminal investigation is also underway.

Isabella Penz, Bildungsdirektorin in Kärnten.

Police and Education Directorate investigate incident
In response to an inquiry from the "Krone" newspaper, the principal stated that the incident had been handled properly and reported to the Education Directorate. The children present had received psychological support from the school. Director of Education Isabella Penz: "Our task now is to check whether supervisory duties were breached. An accident report has also been submitted to the AUVA."

The police are also investigating whether all the necessary safety measures were observed on the farm. They are shocked: "School classes have been visiting us at the farm for 40 years, something like this has never really happened before."

Stefanie D. is hoping for a proper investigation and clarification. Her son is now on the road to recovery.