A late evening incident at Conrad Bengaluru's third floor pool involving Lufthansa crew and a visiting executive has prompted a full police probe.
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A swim in the pool at the Conrad Bengaluru has left one Lufthansa crew member dead and another foreign national deceased, after it was alleged that both died due to electrocution at the hotel's swimming pool. The incident, which occurred on Friday evening involved a Lufthansa crew member who was in the city for a layover after operating one of the airline's nonstop flights to India.
The Conrad Bengaluru, part of the Hilton chain, is a five-star hotel in Bengaluru's central business district. Both victims have been identified: German Alexander Maximilian Theiss, a Lufthansa crew member, and Juraj Horvat, a Slovak national in the city on business for tech giant IBM.
A police complaint filed by the German national's wife, Silvia Ottawa, said Theiss died while trying to exit the Conrad's picturesque third-story pool. At this point, it remains unclear what the exact cause of the incident was, and according to NDTV, the alleged electrocution has not been confirmed by authorities.
Lufthansa crew member Theiss was in Bengaluru after crewing on a Lufthansa flight to Kempegowda International Airport Bengaluru (BLR). Lufthansa operates to Bengaluru with nonstop flights from both Frankfurt Airport (FRA) and Munich Airport (MUC).
The Conrad Hotel released a statement saying it was saddened by the incident and is continuing to work with local 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."
Simple Flying reached out to Lufthansa for comment on the incident; however, an airline spokesperson could not immediately be reached.
Four individuals were injured in the pool incident and were transported to Manipal Hospital. Theiss is confirmed to have arrived at the hospital with severe injuries and was pronounced dead on arrival. Horvat was being administered CPR on arrival; however, despite all efforts, he was unable to be saved.
Matthew Desantis, a US national who was staying at the hotel on Friday night, and Rahul Tiwari, an Indian national who was the pool attendant, sustained injuries while attempting to rescue the victims. Both the US national and the Indian pool attendant underwent treatment for non-life-threatening injuries and will be discharged.
The Conrad Bengaluru has closed the swimming pool while the investigation is ongoing, with the hotel's website stating it is 'closed for maintenance' until the end of November.
As one of Europe's largest airline groups, Lufthansa, SWISS International Air Lines, and ITA Airways all operate a range of nonstop flights to India. Lufthansa operates nonstop flights from Frankfurt to Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Mumbai, and Munich to Bengaluru, Delhi, and Mumbai.
Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Mumbai
SWISS operates nonstop flights from Zurich to Bengaluru, Delhi, and Mumbai, and ITA Airways operates flights to Delhi. Other airlines in the Lufthansa Group do not have regular scheduled flights to India.
For the Lufthansa Group, the sudden loss of this crew member adds a tragic ending to the incident at the Conrad. The incident will undoubtedly raise wider questions about safety standards. Authorities continued to investigate the circumstances around the deaths.