this post was submitted on 18 Feb 2026
379 points (99.2% liked)

World News

53971 readers
2837 users here now

A community for discussing events around the World

Rules:

Similarly, if you see posts along these lines, do not engage. Report them, block them, and live a happier life than they do. We see too many slapfights that boil down to "Mom! He's bugging me!" and "I'm not touching you!" Going forward, slapfights will result in removed comments and temp bans to cool off.

We ask that the users report any comment or post that violate the rules, to use critical thinking when reading, posting or commenting. Users that post off-topic spam, advocate violence, have multiple comments or posts removed, weaponize reports or violate the code of conduct will be banned.

All posts and comments will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis. This means that some content that violates the rules may be allowed, while other content that does not violate the rules may be removed. The moderators retain the right to remove any content and ban users.


Lemmy World Partners

News !news@lemmy.world

Politics !politics@lemmy.world

World Politics !globalpolitics@lemmy.world


Recommendations

For Firefox users, there is media bias / propaganda / fact check plugin.

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/media-bias-fact-check/

founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
 

More than a year after a 33-year-old woman froze to death on Austria's highest mountain, her boyfriend goes on trial on Thursday accused of gross negligent manslaughter.

Kerstin G died of hypothermia on a mountain climbing trip to the Grossglockner that went horribly wrong. Her boyfriend is accused of leaving her unprotected and exhausted close to the summit in stormy conditions in the early hours of 19 January 2025, while he went to get help.

The trial has sparked interest and debate, not just in Austria but in mountain climbing communities far beyond its borders.

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] Swemg@lemmy.world 70 points 1 day ago (2 children)

What is weird is the phone in silent and him not trying to contact for help. Mobile coverage maps shows that this area is under coverage. From a personal experience, when It's really cold I usually put on every piece of clothes I can once I stop moving. Even get in my sleeping bag if necessary.

[–] WolfLink@sh.itjust.works 4 points 9 hours ago* (last edited 9 hours ago) (1 children)

I’d be curious to hear the other side of the story. The phone on silence is what “police allege”, and mobile coverage maps are often exaggerated for marketing, not to mention being in a big storm could affect service.

It’s possible his phone was not working, and he kept going until he got service.

[–] Leomas@lemmy.world 1 points 9 hours ago (1 children)

Look, I don't live in Austria, I live in Switzerland, but I'm pretty sure it's similar in our neighbour. The coverage might be true, there aren't actually a lot of places without basic coverage, keep in mind we are both much smaller counties than the US for example. Him not noticing calls seems to me the more likely (good-faith) reason.

[–] Swemg@lemmy.world 1 points 7 hours ago

Yeah in altitude I rarely had no coverage. I'm usually offline when you're between mountains deep in a valley. Also even I that usually don't go much more than 1400m altitude I have a garmin GPS with the inreach thing with the sos button. It's because I usually go alone. So just in case

[–] magnetosphere@fedia.io 29 points 1 day ago (2 children)

Yes. What was the point of him putting his phone on silent? What was the reasoning behind that?

[–] modus@lemmy.world 42 points 1 day ago

Probably made the murder easier.

[–] SaveTheTuaHawk@lemmy.ca -1 points 13 hours ago (2 children)

Trying to save battery? Mobile works poorly in mountains.

[–] Slashme@lemmy.world 3 points 11 hours ago

Airplane mode would save battery. Silent vs loud ringing isn't a significant battery drain.

[–] Clent@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 points 11 hours ago

Silencing a phone does not save battery.