"Lost place" explored

Automatically saved draft

The accident happened in the old swimming pool in Laßnitzhöhe.(Bild: FF Laßnitzhöhe)

The emergency services had to be called out on Friday evening in Laßnitzhöhe (Styria): a man (38) had fallen from the attic of the old, dilapidated swimming pool. This "lost place" is a regular occurrence. Just recently, a 15-year-old girl died in a similar accident in Lower Austria.

This operation is reminiscent of a tragic accident that caused horror in Lower Austria on February 6: a girl (15) fell to her death while exploring the former cement factory in Kaltenleutgeben (Mödling district). The "lost place" - abandoned, often dilapidated locations - was cordoned off.

On Friday evening, the emergency services from Laßnitzhöhe in Styria were alerted to the old swimming pool. A 38-year-old man had fallen from the attic of the dilapidated building, which was also cordoned off. Apparently he wanted to climb a rusty ladder. He called the emergency services himself.

"At the scene, two teams immediately began searching for the injured man in the building. The Red Cross team arrived at the same time and were finally able to find the person," the fire department explains.

Access to the swimming pool cut free
The man was apparently unable to get up himself and was injured to an undetermined degree. The emergency services had to use a drag basket stretcher to remove him from the building after cutting free the overgrown access to the swimming pool with a chainsaw.

Repeated operations
It was not the first time the fire department had been called out to this "lost place". "We're there all the time, sometimes the rescue team just comes because someone has cut themselves or something similar. Fires have also been started," says Stefan Gerger from the Laßnitzhöhe fire brigade, who warns people not to enter the ruins under any circumstances: "It's very dangerous."