Mourning for five-year-old
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The drama surrounding a five-year-old boy in St. Marein near Graz is causing grief throughout the country: he was buried in a landslide in the forest and died. Provincial geologist Martin Schröttner was on site. He noted: "Sand was mined here a long time ago."
Could such a tragedy have been prevented? This question always arises. Listening to Martin Schröttner's explanations, one gets the impression that the St. Marein tragedy was a sad fate.
The site of the accident, where a woman and four children were walking on Wednesday afternoon, "lies in a steep step in the forest", says the regional geologist. A long time ago - probably decades ago - sand was mined on this private land. The area is heavily overgrown, with old, mighty trees with strong roots on the edge of the slope. The almost vertical sand walls are five to six meters high.
Digging until completely exhausted
According to the police, around 100 cubic meters of soil have come loose. One child was partially buried - he is out of danger. A five-year-old boy, however, was completely buried. 140 firefighters dug in piecework and fought for his life. After ten to 15 minutes of digging, they were relieved, completely exhausted. But there was no rescue for the child.
The emergency services took a lot of risks themselves. "There was a constant trickling sound during the rescue", reports Schröttner. The area is currently not accessible for safe work and the cordon has been extended. Only when the trees secured during the operation have been removed and the top of the embankment has been cut can the forensic work begin.
"It leaves you in despair"
Governor Christopher Drexler (ÖVP) and his deputy Anton Lang (SPÖ) were shocked by the tragedy. They expressed their deepest sympathy to the family. "It leaves you feeling desperate and sad", says Drexler.
According to Harald Eitner, head of Styrian disaster control, it cannot be said with certainty whether the incident is causally linked to the heavy rainfall on Saturday, but it is very likely. At that time, a super thunderstorm cell also passed over St. Marein and caused enormous amounts of rain.
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