Two people died

Suspended Sentences and Fines Following Fatal Fall

On February 8, 2023, two people died during a blasting operation in a district of Steyr(Bild: Kerschbaummayr Werner)

In the trial following a rockslide in the Unterhimmel district of Steyr in 2023 that left two people dead, both defendants were sentenced on Thursday to four months of suspended prison terms and fines of 10,440 euros (senior manager) and 17,100 euros (geologist), respectively. The verdicts are not yet final.

“The objective standard of care was not met in this case,” explained the judge of the Steyr Regional Court in handing down the guilty verdicts. Nor could it be established that the senior manager’s son had allegedly acted entirely on his own initiative. He triggered the rockslide by operating an excavator at the edge of the unstable cliff face, an incident in which he himself and another construction worker lost their lives. Securing the cliff face was a process that was not easy to carry out, the judge said.

Planning Deficiencies and Unclear Responsibilities
The excavator should not have been used at the affected site prior to the rockfall. According to the expert, the excavator had been working directly on the rock at risk of collapse and not next to it, as had been suggested. Attempts were also made to clarify who was—or should have been—responsible for surveying the site: the Avalanche and Torrent Control Authority as the client, or the construction company owned by the senior partner, as specified in the bid. The original excavation plan had already become obsolete during a meeting a week before the accident; it was supposed to be revised, but the rockfall occurred before that could happen.

On February 8, 2023, during slope stabilization work, two workers, aged 31 and 64, were in the process of removing a large boulder from the crumbling slope. In the process, approximately 3,000 cubic meters of rock came loose and buried the two men. Due to the extremely dangerous conditions at the scene of the accident, it took six days before the two victims could be recovered. The rockslide also damaged an outbuilding attached to a residential home and a garage. A total of four buildings had to be evacuated. The potential sentence was up to two years in prison.