Interlaken
Interlaken (; lit.: ''between lakes'') is a Swiss town and municipality in the Interlaken-Oberhasli administrative district in the canton of Bern. It is an important and well-known tourist destination in the Bernese Oberland region of the Swiss A ...
in the
Canton of Bern
The canton of Bern or Berne (german: Kanton Bern; rm, Chantun Berna; french: canton de Berne; it, Canton Berna) is one of the 26 cantons forming the Swiss Confederation. Its capital city, Bern, is also the ''de facto'' capital of Switzerland. ...
,
Switzerland
). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
. It is a left tributary of the river
Lütschine
The Lütschine is a river in the Bernese Oberland region of Switzerland. The Lütschine proper runs from Zweilütschinen, where its two tribututaries join, to Lake Brienz at Bönigen. The Schwarze Lütschine, or Black Lütschine, flows from Gr ...
. It flows through the village
Saxeten
Saxeten is a municipality in the Interlaken-Oberhasli administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland.
In 1999 it was the site of an incident where 21 tourists and local canyon guides were killed in a flash flood in Saxetenbach can ...
and joins the Lütschine in
Wilderswil
Wilderswil is a village and a municipality in the Interlaken-Oberhasli administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland.
Wilderswil belongs to the Small Agglomeration ''Interlaken'' with 23,300 inhabitants (2014).
Geography
The ...
. It forms a narrow
ravine
A ravine is a landform that is narrower than a canyon and is often the product of streambank erosion.
On 27 July 1999, an accident occurred in Saxetbach Gorge (a gorge close to the village of
Saxeten
Saxeten is a municipality in the Interlaken-Oberhasli administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland.
In 1999 it was the site of an incident where 21 tourists and local canyon guides were killed in a flash flood in Saxetenbach can ...
) in which 21 young people from
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...
,
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island coun ...
,
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...
,
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring coun ...
, and
Switzerland
). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
died.
Forty-eight people from two coach tour parties had elected an optional side event of
canyoning
Canyoning (canyoneering in the United States, kloofing in South Africa) is a type of mountaineering that involves travelling in canyons using a variety of techniques that may include other outdoor activities such as walking, scrambling, climbin ...
. It was organized by Adventure World, a now defunct company located in
Wilderswil
Wilderswil is a village and a municipality in the Interlaken-Oberhasli administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland.
Wilderswil belongs to the Small Agglomeration ''Interlaken'' with 23,300 inhabitants (2014).
Geography
The ...
, not far from Saxeten. At ,
flash floods
A flash flood is a rapid flooding of low-lying areas: washes, rivers, dry lakes and depressions. It may be caused by heavy rain associated with a severe thunderstorm, hurricane, or tropical storm, or by meltwater from ice or snow flow ...
began pouring through the gorge and 21 people within the group were swept to their deaths; 18 were tourists and three were canyon guides. By 7 pm, the stories had hit the world news, and the hotels they were staying in were bombarded with phone calls, but the staff knew only what they saw on television.
The survivors were rescued and then questioned by Swiss Police before being released and returned to their hotel at the next morning. Until then they had no idea how many people had died nor the enormity of the disaster.
Identifying the dead bodies was a serious problem for the Swiss authorities as the bodies were badly traumatized. Eleven survivors agreed to go to the mortuary to identify the dead, but many victims had to be identified through DNA and dental analysis. Families were desperate to see for themselves what had happened, and
Swissair
Swissair AG/ S.A. (German: Schweizerische Luftverkehr-AG; French: S.A. Suisse pour la Navigation Aérienne) was the national airline of Switzerland between its founding in 1931 and bankruptcy in 2002.
It was formed from a merger between Bal ...
along with Swiss medical services provided meet and greet sessions for families, and also much counseling for those who had been present. Bodies of the dead washed up in Lake Brienz, a popular boating lake, during peak summer tourist season. The bodies were mostly pulled out of the lake by young Dutch tourists who stayed at the nearby campsite. This particular group was going to join an Adventure World rafting or canyoning trip this same day, but decided not to go at the last moment.
Since the incident, the press reported many rumors about what happened. Emergency services claim they sent someone to tell the group of the impending storms, and families of the dead claim that the company should have seen the signs of the weather. Swiss authorities were quick to blame profit-seeking and general negligence as the cause of the accident.
After the disaster, Adventure World went out of business. Their former premises, near the Wilderswil Station, are now occupied by a bank. In 2001, some of the staff at Adventure World were charged in connection with the deaths. A total of six staff members were found guilty of
manslaughter
Manslaughter is a common law legal term for homicide considered by law as less culpable than murder. The distinction between murder and manslaughter is sometimes said to have first been made by the ancient Athenian lawmaker Draco in the 7th ce ...
through
culpable negligence
Endangerment is a type of crime involving conduct that is wrongful and reckless or wanton, and likely to produce death or grievous bodily harm to another person. There are several kinds of endangerment, each of which is a criminal act that can ...
and given suspended sentences of between two and five months and fined between 4,000 and 7,500 CHF.
Outside Magazine
''Outside'' is an American company and magazine focused on the outdoors. The first issue of ''Outside'' was published in September 1977.
History
Outside founders were Jann Wenner (the first editor in chief), William Randolph Hearst III (its first ...