- Saxetenbach Gorge
Saxetenbach Gorge is a narrow
ravine nearInterlaken aboveLake Brienz inSwitzerland .1999 Accident
While there are many ravines of this size in Switzerland, Saxetenbach is remembered for the events of
July 27 ,1999 when a group of touristscanyoning in the ravine were drowned by aflash flood . Twenty-one of them (including fourteen fromAustralia ) were swept to their deaths in the worst disaster to hit the sport.Two years later, six managers of the (now defunct) adventure company leading the party of tourists were found guilty of negligent
manslaughter , essentially a failure to assess risk adequately. Safety procedures across Switzerland were tightened as a result of this accident.
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