Berlin-Neukölln
Drama at graduation: 17-year-old falls through the skylight and dies
An ambulance from the Berlin fire brigade is deployed with blue lights (archive image). A 17-year-old fell through a plexiglass dome at a graduation ceremony in Berlin-Neukölln and was fatally injured.
© Monika Skolimowska / DPA
It was supposed to be a boisterous party after graduation: Hundreds of students from a high school in Berlin-Pankow celebrated their graduation that night in a hotel in Neukölln. But the festival ended tragically.
The emergency call to the fire department for two seriously injured people was received at 1:28 a.m., a spokesman said. The fire brigade arrived at the scene of the accident shortly afterwards with four ambulances and two emergency doctors. Local helpers had already started to revive the girl. An emergency doctor then continued. The teenager was taken to a hospital and the injured companion was taken to another hospital. Five other people, young people and adults, were in shock and were cared for. After all, the emergency pastoral care took care of her.
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How exactly the fall came about has not yet been finally clarified, said a police spokeswoman in the morning. According to initial findings, the high school graduates from the Rosa-Luxemburg-Gymnasium in Berlin-Pankow came to the flat roof using a ladder. They then fell through the dome simultaneously. The second youth probably fell on some containers in an adjoining room of the party hall, which slowed his fall. It may have been garbage cans, police said. Immediately, helpers rushed to take care of the injured, including adults from the school and hotel staff.
The hotel also commented on the course of the accident on Monday morning. Accordingly, the young people had climbed onto the roof of a neighboring building of the event halls. “There they sat on a plastic roof. The hatch collapsed under the weight of the two,” reported spokesman Jürgen-M. nobleman. “We are very upset about the incident,” said Ute Jacobs, the hotel’s executive director. “A graduation ball is a celebration of joy and is a special celebration at the end of school. The fact that such an event is overshadowed by this tragic incident makes the staff and management of the Estrel Berlin very sad. Our thoughts are with the relatives, classmates and teachers. “
Berlin’s Education Senator Katharina Günther-Wünsch (CDU) was also very concerned. “I am deeply dismayed by this accident. My condolences go to the family, relatives and the school community. The exact circumstances must now be clarified,” said the senator on Monday morning to the German Press Agency.
Meanwhile, there is “infinite grief” at the school of the victims. She writes on her website: “The Rosa-Luxemburg-Gymnasium mourns the loss of a graduate. Days of joy ended abruptly. (…) No answer. Pain that goes deep and will not go away. Our thoughts are with the family of the young woman and all graduates.”
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According to a report by “BZ”, several hundred students from the high school took part in the celebration in the side buildings further back. At the same time, according to the police, the high school graduates of some other schools celebrated at the same time on Sunday evening. In addition to a few hundred rooms, the Hotel Estrel also has several large function rooms, some of which are in outbuildings. It is also known for concerts and shows where doubles of well-known world stars perform.
On Monday morning, only a display with an emblem of the Rosa-Luxemburg-Gymnasium and the note “Abi RLG 2023” and arrows to the place of the party reminded of the event. Otherwise everything was calm. The event rooms and the roof where the accident occurred were not accessible.
The police are investigating, as usual, in such cases because of an unnatural death. Out of consideration for the dead girl’s family, there should be no further information about the people involved or specific details of the process.