Bern, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Two military tribunals that have been investigating separate accidents which killed six soldiers on the Jungfrau in July 2007 and five soldiers in the Kander river in June 2008 have pressed charges. The cases against three men, one a commanding officer and the other two mountain guides who were hired to work with the army, go to court in Chur in November 2009. The men charged risk up to three years in prison, according to news agency ATS.

In the Jungfrau case five recruits and a commanding officer, all experienced mountain climbers, lost their lives in an avalanche. The two guides are accused of negligent homicide, of not respecting army regulations and of repeated instances of inattentiveness. The group died when a snow ledge collapsed. They were climbing in wintry conditions, with 60 cm of fresh snow the day before. The case has been held up by requests for further information and one of the guides changing his lawyer.

The commanding officer of the group of recruits who died on the Kander river in canton Bern has been charged with several counts of negligent homicide, negligent bodily injury, violating military regulations, and misuse of and damage to military equipment. He took a group out on two rubber dinghies in rapids, one of which was caught sideways by the rapids. (accident details, government site, Fr)

Related, TSR

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