After fire in Thörl

Cadaver sniffer dog found remains: residents probably dead

(Bild: FF Aflenz Kurort)

Two people are believed to have died in the house in Thörl, Styria, which burnt down completely on Monday night. The two residents could not be found. However, a cadaver sniffer dog has now found remains in the ashes. Whether these are human remains remains to be investigated.

Following the fire in a remote residential building in Thörl in Upper Styria (Bruck-Mürzzuschlag district), a search operation on Tuesday led to increasing evidence that the two residents may have died in the building. The two senior citizens had lived there for many years, but recently there may have been disagreements over the tenancy, the police confirmed. The search of the ruins of the fire has now been completed, they said on Wednesday.

Traces recovered
"Traces have been seized and are now being examined in the laboratory," said police spokesman Markus Lamb. It is not certain whether they are human remains, but as the two pensioners have not been found anywhere else, it is suspected that they were in the house that burned down completely.

Fire department could only extinguish embers
The fire broke out on Monday night for unknown reasons. When the firefighters arrived, the three-storey wooden house was completely engulfed in flames. The helpers were only able to extinguish the embers. At the time, nobody suspected that there might have been someone in the house, said Lamb.

The building was very remote and therefore no neighbors raised the alarm that there might be residents inside. It was only when the 80-year-old man and his wife could not be found on Monday that a search for them began.

Results only in a few days
Cadaver sniffer dogs combed through the ruins of the fire on Tuesday and searched for human remains. All the samples collected are now being sent to the laboratory for analysis. However, the results should not be available for a few days, according to Lamb.