Help came too late

86-year-old woman found lifeless in stream near Feldbach

The emergency doctor rushed to the scene with the rescue helicopter.

(Bild: P. Huber)

Walkers found a motionless woman in a stream bed near Feldbach (district of south-eastern Styria) on Thursday evening. They dragged her out of the water and tried to resuscitate her - but the emergency doctor who was called could only determine the 86-year-old's death a short time later. She had probably fallen into the stream while gardening.

Shortly after 8 p.m. on Thursday evening, a couple were out walking their dog when they made a terrible discovery: A motionless woman was lying in the Schützingbach stream next to the municipal road in Raabau in Feldbach!

Woman lying with her head in the water
They rushed to her immediately. They descended to the bed of the stream and discovered that the person was lying with her head in the water. Passing walkers helped the couple to pull her out of the water. Together they administered first aid and alerted the emergency services.

Falling while gardening
When the emergency doctor arrived with the Christophorus 12 rescue helicopter, he was only able to determine that the 86-year-old had died. "Based on investigations and the situation on site, it appears that the woman probably fell one and a half meters while removing leaves from the vine hedge in her yard," says Markus Lamb, police spokesman for Styria. She probably fell in the afternoon hours. There are no indications that she was not at fault - her relatives are being looked after by a crisis intervention team.