A quarter of a year after the fatal flood disaster on the Höllentalklamm at the foot of the Zugspitze, there is still no trace of a missing man. A tidal wave had torn a 33-year-old woman from Upper Franconia to her death on August 16. Her 34-year-old life partner has not been found to this day. Recently there was another day of intensive searches, said the press spokesman for the police headquarters in Upper Bavaria South, Stefan Sonntag. Canyoning experts were also in the gorge again to look for the man in Gumpen. “But we didn’t find him.” One is in constant contact with the relatives. It is clear that there is no longer any chance of survival for the man.
The bridge above the gorge has now been rebuilt – at a point a little further up in the area and higher above the water. This should offer more protection in the event of future floods. With climate change, an increase in such storms can be expected, said the Grainau mayor, Stephan Märkl (CSU) – the community is not responsible for the bridge. There could be no perfect protection, emphasized Märkl. “It’s the great outdoors. It’s high mountains.” This is about personal responsibility. For decades nothing happened in the gorge, at least there were no serious accidents, said Märkl. Last year, a violent flash flood rolled through the gorge and severely damaged bridges and paths – but the water came late in the evening, and nobody was out. In August, eight people were rescued from the gorge, largely unharmed, after the accident. Some of them had been trapped in the masses of water.