Fatal Accidents on Glaciers: Forensic, Criminological, and Glaciological Conclusions

Abstract

The rare event of a corpse immersed in glacier ice becoming exposed on a glacier surface is closely connected with the glaciological conditions at the scene and the site of the accident. Provided that the time since death is known, certain questions relative to the circumstances of a mountain accident can only be answered by considering glaciological aspects. How the scene of an accident can be reconstructed by inference from the site of discovery is discussed by means of three exemplary cases that occurred on Tyrolean glaciers (Austria) during the past 40 years: (1) Two corpses were discovered close above the equilibrium line in the accumulation area after 25 years. The two victims had fallen down a rock face after the breaking off of a cornice and had come to rest in the uppermost part of the accumulation area. (2) A victim was discovered in the lower ablation area 8 years after falling down a crevasse in the middle part of the ablation area. (3) A female alpinist was discovered at the very end of the glacier after 29 years; it was concluded that the accident must have happened in the accumulation area.

Kwäday Dän Ts'ìnchì, the first ancient body of a man from a North American glacier: reconstructing his last days by intestinal and biomolecular analyses

“…For the last days of Kwaday Dan Ts'inchi's life it is very clear that he had carried seafood, which he must have eaten well away from the coast, probably at high altitude. Most human corpses found in melting glaciers are only a few decades old and may be in a fragmentary state because of differential ice movements (Ambach et al, 1991;Spindler, 1994). With glaciers the world over in retreat, it can be anticipated that more ancient bodies will be found; however, very few, if any, can be expected to be both as old and as intact as Otzi, whose corpse had moved only a matter of metres (Oeggl, 2003).…”

Death from Hypothermia during a Training Course under “Extreme Conditions”: Related to Two Cases

“…This ill‐suited behavior, which is often the cause of misinterpretation at the time of examination of the bodies, has been described by several authors . It appears to be a consequence of a terminal perturbation of certain core thermoregulatory functions that lead to inappropriate vasomotor reactions (vasodilation subsequent to peripheral vasoconstriction, producing a sensation of warmth that can lead to undressing) .…”

“…Hypothermia kills by ventricular fibrillation resulting from, for example, hypoxia, electrolytic perturbations with acidosis, an imbalance in intramyocardiac temperatures, coronary vasoconstriction associated with blood hyperviscosity, or mechanical irritation . Almost all authors are in agreement concerning the scarcity of autopsy findings and their lack of specificity . A microscopic anatomopathological analysis contributes almost no further information and very little specificity in terms of the observed organic alterations.…”

“…Biological analyses contribute just as little. No specific sign can truly justify the identification of death from hypothermia .…”