Site manager sentenced

Carbon monoxide poisoning due to a leaking chimney

The fire department found the unconscious residents. The carbon monoxide detector went off immediately (symbolic image)

(Bild: APA/HANS KLAUS TECHT)

After a carbon monoxide accident in an apartment in Leoben that left three people seriously injured, it turned out that the chimney was buried and the heating should not have been on. The site manager responsible has now been sentenced.

In January of this year, a Syrian couple and their 18-year-old daughter had to be put into artificial deep sleep in hospital because they had suffered severe carbon monoxide poisoning. Relatives were worried and raised the alarm. When the fire department broke down the door, the CO detector went off. The police spoke of life-threatening readings.

Chimney spilled during construction work
The building in which the family lived was being renovated at the time of the accident. The chimney was buried during the construction work, but the family was apparently not informed that they were not allowed to use their gas boiler.

The managing director of the real estate company and the site manager were therefore charged with grossly negligent bodily injury. The verdict was handed down in Leoben on Wednesday. The managing director was acquitted. He had rung the family home but had not been able to reach anyone. He told the site manager to talk to them. But he did not do so.

The sentence (presided over by Judge Armin Scheck) of six months' conditional imprisonment is not legally binding. The defendant asked for time to think about it.