Bengaluru:
In a shocking incident at a five-star hotel in Bengaluru, two foreign nationals died and one was injured allegedly due to electrocution at the hotel’s swimming pool on Friday evening.
The incident took place at the five-star Conrad hotel in the city.
The victims have been identified as German and Slovakian nationals who were staying at the hotel.
Besides the two victims, A US national, who was staying at the hotel, and an Indian pool attendant sustained injuries while attempting to rescue the two victims. Both injured persons were shifted to Manipal Hospital and are undergoing treatment. They are reported to be out of danger.
The German national has been identified as 57-year-old Alexander Maximilian Theiss, who was a crew member with Lufthansa Airlines.
The Slovakian national who lost his life was 45-year-old Juraj Horvat, a project manager with tech giant IBM.
In a statement, Conrad hotel management stated that it was saddened by the incident and has been cooperating with police.
“We are deeply saddened by the tragic incident which occurred at Conrad Bengaluru yesterday which led to the subsequent passing away of two guests. We offer our deepest condolences to all those impacted. The cause of the incident has not yet been established and remains subject to a comprehensive investigation by local authorities. We are offering our full support to their investigation. Our team remains available to provide all appropriate assistance to relevant authorities as their investigation continues.”
Manipal hospital in a statement said: “Four people were brought to Manipal Hospitals following the incident at Conrad Hotel around 5.10 pm on Friday. They included a German national, a Slovakian national, a US national and a 26-year-old hotel staff member.”
While the German national was brought dead, according to the hospital, the Slovakian died while doctors tried to revive him.
“The Slovakian national was administered CPR in an attempt to revive them. However, despite all clinical efforts, the patient could not be saved and was declared dead at the hospital on Friday evening. The German national was brought dead,” the statement by Dr Mabel, Head of the Department of Emergency Medicine, Manipal Hospitals, said.
“The US national anticipated the electric current and jumped into the pool to rescue the victims. He complained of a headache and was in a state of shock. He is currently stable and is likely to be discharged today.” The hospital further added that the 26-year-old hotel staff member was also admitted in a state of shock. “The staff member is currently stable and is likely to be discharged today.”
The incident took place at the hotel’s swimming pool located on the third floor when the two victims went for a swim on Friday evening.
NDTV has learnt that the German victim Alexander’s wife Silvia Ottawa has filed the police complaint.
According to the complaint, the victims suffered an electric shock while trying to get out of the pool and drowned.
A complaint has been registered alleging that the deaths occurred due to negligence on the part of the Conrad Hotel management in properly maintaining the swimming pool.
The injured US national has been identified as 41-year old Mathew Desantis, who was staying at the hotel. The Indian pool attendant Rahul Tiwari (28) sustained injuries while attempting to rescue the victims.
A case has been registered, and police have launched an investigation into the incident.
The hotel website on Saturday morning notified that its swimming pool has been “closed for maintenance” from October 31 to November 30.
Conrad is a luxury 24-storey five-star hotel, part of the Hilton group. The incident has raised serious questions of negligence on the part of the hotel, where stay costs at least Rs 25,000 per night for a standard room.
Source: www.ndtv.com
