Trial in Linz

Two guests fell to their deaths: hotelier on trial

The operator of a hotel will stand trial for involuntary manslaughter in Linz on Thursday, 20 June: two guests fell a good seven meters through a railing from the balcony in July 2023. All help came too late for them. The accused (47) is said to have failed to comply with the safety checks.

On the evening of July 7, a group of men were sitting together over several after-work beers in the hotel in Linz, which mainly serves as workers' accommodation. An argument broke out between two of them, a third tried to mediate and a fight broke out on the balcony of a hotel room, a court spokesman reported on the course of the accident. A German (33) and a Pole (47) hit the railing, causing it to break off. Both fell from the second floor onto the asphalt.

Business taken over in 2016
According to the indictment, no defects were found in the railing during an inspection by official experts in 2011. In 2016, the defendant took over the hotel and since then, he claims to have carried out safety checks twice a year. Why he did not have the wobbly brackets repaired will have to be clarified at the trial.

 

Not an isolated case
According to police reports, the brackets of balcony railings one floor above and below the one that was torn out were probably in a similarly poor condition. If convicted, the hotel operator faces up to two years in prison.