Verdict expected in Swiss canyoning manslaughter trial

Verdicts are expected today in the manslaughter trial that followed the deaths of 18 tourists and three guides in an Alpine flash flood.

Swiss Judge Thomas Zbinden, who presided without a jury during the six day trial in Interlaken, can hand down prison sentences of up to one year.

The charges against eight associates of the former tour operator Adventure World stem from the deaths in the swollen Saxet Brook above Interlaken in July 1999.

They are accused of leading the tourists - aged 18 to 31 - on a canyoning trip into the gorge even though a thunderstorm was breaking overhead.

Prosecutor Hans-Peter Schuerch has asked for suspended sentences of between five and 10 months and fines of up to £4,100 for the defendants.

Most of the victims were Australians.

Canyoning involves jumping, sliding and abseiling into rivers and swimming downstream without a raft.