However, his legal team insist the couple were managing the climb well when the helicopter passed over, and said he didn’t feel his phone vibrating when contacted.
Police say Gurtner was ill-equipped for such a challenging climb, saying she was wearing soft snow boots.
However, Gurtner’s mother said she didn’t blame Plamberger and told German newspaper Die Zeit: « It makes me angry that Kerstin is being portrayed as a stupid little thing.
“Kerstin was in top physical condition. And she had already mastered far more difficult climbing tours, both alone and with her boyfriend.
« And I think it’s unfair how Kerstin’s boyfriend is being treated. There’s a witch hunt against him in the media and online. »
However, prosecutors claim Plamberger failed to move his girlfriend to a more sheltered spot to protect her from the wind, and didn’t give her a bivouac sleeping bag or aluminium foil blankets to keep her warm.
Plamberger said the relationship was a happy one and they had been planning on moving in together.
He said his mountain climbing skills were ‘self taught’, and his lawyer, Kurt Jelinek, said Gurtner’s death was a ‘tragic, fateful accident’.
Greta Thunberg and other activists have been blocked from entering Gaza, with the young activist claiming she’s once again been ‘abducted’ by Israel.
Thunberg has tried on multiple occasions to get into Gaza to provide aid to those who are suffering as a result of the blockade being carried out by Israeli forces.
There have been reports of ‘widespread starvation, malnutrition and disease’ in Gaza amid the ongoing war with Israel.
