Bondo rockfall 2017: Five defendants in court – eight dead, no bodies recovered
Five cantonal and municipal officials are appearing in court over the rockfall in Bondo GR. The prosecution accuses them of multiple counts of negligent homicide.
Bondo rockfall: National Councillor Giacometti and four other defendants before Maloja Regional Court
On 23 August 2017, the north-eastern face of Piz Cengalo collapsed at approximately 3,000 metres above sea level. Three million cubic metres of debris – equivalent to thirteen times the volume of Zurich's Prime Tower – plunged into the valley. A debris and ice avalanche raced towards the Graubünden mountain village of Bondo, near the Italian border in the Bergell region.
Eight people lost their lives. Their bodies were never recovered. The mountain has kept them.
Among the victims: German friends Reinhard Höbrink (†59) and Helmut Karalus (†62), German father Andreas Lauke with his daughter Katharina (†19), a Swiss couple and an Austrian couple. According to Blick, five cantonal and municipal officials are now appearing before Maloja Regional Court in the congress centre in Pontresina GR.
Who is charged?
Facing charges is current FDP National Councillor Anna Giacometti (64), who was mayor of Bregaglia – the municipality to which Bondo belongs – at the time of the disaster. Alongside her stand a private geologist with his own firm, a forestry engineer at the Graubünden Office for Forests and Natural Hazards, a geologist and department head of the same office, and a forester for the municipality of Bregaglia. All five are accused of multiple counts of negligent homicide.
The charge sheet
The prosecution argues that the accused failed to recognise the escalating danger at Piz Cengalo in time and act accordingly. According to the charge sheet, there were clear warning signs of an imminent rockfall from 9 August 2017 onwards.
On 10 August, the accused geologist Julien P. calculated an unstable rock mass of 5 to 6 million cubic metres. He recommended "no longer entering Val Bondasca", and considered an immediate access ban for all mountain huts appropriate.
Four days later, on 14 August, employees of the Office for Forests and Natural Hazards sent the municipality of Bregaglia an email stating: "From a natural hazards perspective, the hazard and risk situation for rockfalls and mountainfalls from Cengalo has not materially changed."
On the same day, Mayor Giacometti met with a group, including two co-defendants. The corresponding file note records that the Office for Forests and Natural Hazards, in consultation with geologist Julien P., proposed maintaining the existing safety measures from 2015 and keeping Val Bondasca open. Additionally, information posters with an additional warning were approved.
The prosecution considers this insufficient. The accused had a duty to implement "measures to ensure the safety of hikers and climbers" – an obligation they failed to fulfil. The prosecution's conclusion is clear: had the five responsible parties ordered a precautionary closure of the hiking routes, the deaths of the eight mountaineers "would in all likelihood have been prevented".
Defendants provide little comment
Blick gave all defendants the opportunity to comment. Four responded. Julien P. was friendly on the telephone but declined to speak. Former Mayor Anna Giacometti stated in writing: "I will not grant any media interviews before the hearing, after consulting with my lawyer."
The two employees of the Graubünden Office for Forests and Natural Hazards sent Blick identical emails: "Since the main hearing is imminent, I do not wish to comment publicly on the substantive questions at this time. I believe it is appropriate that the different perspectives are now first presented and assessed in court."
Possible sentences
The specific sentences the prosecution will request will only become known during the proceedings. For multiple counts of negligent homicide, Swiss law provides for up to four and a half years' imprisonment. All defendants are presumed innocent.
The trial began on Monday at 9 a.m. at Maloja Regional Court in the congress centre in Pontresina GR.
Source: Blick