Featured Image Credit: Kerstin Gurtner Memorial
Topics: Health, Sex and Relationships, World News
William Morgan
Topics: Health, Sex and Relationships, World News
The identity of a woman who was allegedly left to freeze to death on a mountain summit by her boyfriend has been confirmed by authorities.
The man is now facing charges of manslaughter by gross negligence after Kerstin Gurtner, 33, died less than 150ft from the summit of the Grossglockner mountain in Austria, during an ill-fated late-night excursion in freezing conditions.
The Grossglockner is the highest mountain in Austria, reaching heights of 12,460 feet.
Gurtner, reportedly an inexperienced mountaineer, was led up the mountain through -4 degree conditions and high winds during the January 19 incident on the European country's highest peak.
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In the midst of these treacherous alpine conditions, it is reported that the Salzburg resident told her partner she could no longer go on, after becoming hypothermic and disoriented while approaching the summit.
Around three hours later at 2am, her boyfriend is then alleged to have gone back down to find help, which prosecutors say amounted to leaving her on the mountainside to 'freeze to death'.
Gurtner, who described herself as a 'winter child' and a 'mountain person' on social media, was failed by her boyfriend who had a duty to keep her safe, prosecutors allege.
They also claim that he did not take the proper steps to save her life, failing to use available blankets and shelter to protect Gurtner while he fled for help.
Their statement, translated from German per Heute, reads: "At approximately 2:00 a.m., the defendant left his girlfriend unprotected, exhausted, hypothermic, and disoriented about 50 meters below the summit cross of the Grossglockner.
"The woman froze to death. Since the defendant, unlike his girlfriend, was already very experienced with alpine high-altitude tours and had planned the tour, he was to be considered the responsible guide of the tour."
Shocking webcam footage from the mountain also shows the beam of just one headlight making its way down the mountain, with Gurtner left on the mountainside.
Her boyfriend is also accused of waiting hours to contact emergency services and putting his phone on silent when they called back, missing crucial time.
Austrian prosecutors claim he also failed to flag a police helicopter that passed overhead of their position at 10.50pm, and did not take his partner to a less exposed area.
"The defendant failed to move his girlfriend to a sheltered spot to protect her from heat loss," they said, also slamming the experienced mountaineer for continuing the hike after a two-hour delay with someone who had 'never undertaken an alpine high-altitude tour of this length, difficulty, and altitude.'
Ultimately, rescue teams were unable to reach the stricken 33-year-old until later the next day due to the hurricane-force winds blowing on the mountain during the tragic midnight expedition.
Lawyers representing Gurtner's boyfriend have described her death as a 'tragic, fateful accident'.
Tributes to Gurtner left on an online memorial website describe a 'beloved daughter, sister, sister-in-law, godmother, granddaughter, partner and friend'.
They asked people paying their respects to 'refrain from accusations and assumptions'.