Dignified funeral

New Year’s Eve drama: Lena’s horse accompanied the funeral procession

(Bild: Sepp Pail)

While the investigation into the fatal fire inferno in the Stern pub in the center of Graz is stalling, the 21-year-old who suffocated on New Year's Eve was laid to rest. Her beloved Haflinger "Shirkan" accompanied the Lower Austrian on her last journey.

It was to be such a great, enchanting night into the new year. Lena was looking forward to a firework display of emotions in Graz - to splashes of stars that would light up her life - after saying goodbye to her beloved Haflinger "Shirkan" at the Lower Austrian horse stud in the afternoon. But it was precisely this New Year's Eve celebration in the city center pub (as reported) that proved to be her fatal undoing.

There are simply no words
The beautiful 21-year-old from Mödling (Lower Austria) died in the Stern on New Year's morning because it went up in flames. Another 21 young people were injured, some of them seriously. Why the fire broke out and, above all, who started the inferno - apparently with Stern sprinklers - may never be known.

On this bitterly cold, stormy January day at the Südwest cemetery in Vienna, nobody is talking about it either. There are simply no words.

A girl, only at the beginning of her life, who was able to stand on her feet, who went through thick and thin with her family and friends, who still wanted to conquer the world on the back of her "best friend" "Shirkan", lies in a bright coffin - surrounded by magnificent wreaths of fragrant red and white roses.

More than 100 mourners
"The Rose" by Bette Midler breaks the silence in the funeral hall after this line from the song's lyrics is quoted: "Remember that in winter, deep beneath the bitter cold snow, lies the seed that will grow into a rose in spring through the love of the sun." And Lena's last journey to the family grave, accompanied by more than 100 mourners, was ultimately overshadowed by the light of the sun.

In complete silence. Only the clattering hooves of an unusual visitor to the cemetery could be heard. "Shirkan" trotted behind the coffin - all the way to Lena's final resting place. "You will always remain in our hearts. Your stable community", can be read on the embroidered horse blanket. The 21-year-old's (life) act is complete. Let's hope that the investigators' will remain open until the tragedy is resolved.

Fire investigators grope in the dark 
Another 21 people suffered injuries, some of them serious, in the major fire at the well-known Stern-Bar in Sporgasse. Three fire victims are still in Graz University Hospital - one woman is still being treated in intensive care due to her severe burns, two men have since been transferred to the normal ward. The woman is now stable, but time will tell whether she is out of the woods. We wish them all the best.

Meanwhile, the investigation into the cause of the fire is in full swing. However, police sources tell the "Krone" that the analysis of the extensive video footage - witnesses had recorded the inferno on their cell phones - has been unsuccessful: the "igniter" was not filmed!

The only thing left for the expanded police investigation team to do now is to interview eyewitnesses: did they see who might have been handling star sprays and setting decorative material on fire in the restaurant? "We don't know if we'll ever find a perpetrator," was the sobering conclusion of one officer.