A Lufthansa crew member and an IBM project manager died on Friday evening while swimming at a five-star hotel in Bengaluru, after an electric current allegedly passed through the pool. They were Alexander Maximilian Theiss, 57, from Germany, and Juraj Horvat, 45, from Slovakia.
Police said the two men were in the third-floor pool of the Conrad hotel in Halasuru (Ulsoor) at around 6.30 pm when they suffered the fatal shock.
Rescuers injured
Two people who tried to pull them out were also hurt. They are Mathew DeSantis, 41, an American guest at the hotel, and Rahul Tiwari, 28, the hotel’s pool attendant and lifeguard. Both were taken to Manipal Hospital, and police said they are out of danger.
Theiss was reportedly staying at the hotel during a layover in Bengaluru.
Negligence case after wife’s complaint
Police have filed a negligence case against the hotel management after Horvat’s wife lodged a complaint. The Deputy Commissioner of Police (East) confirmed the deaths and said the case was registered at Halasuru police station.
A senior officer said investigators were checking “possible electrical faults and the safety arrangements at the swimming pool.” The sequence of events, the condition of the pool’s electrical fittings and the hotel’s maintenance records are all part of the probe. Police have not yet confirmed what caused the current to pass through the water.
Hotel silent, pool shut
The hotel management has not commented so far. Its website now shows the pool closed for maintenance from October 31 to November 30.
Conrad Bengaluru is a 24-storey luxury hotel of the Hilton group, with standard rooms starting at ₹25,000 a night. It opened in 2018.
Not the first pool shock death in the city
The deaths have again raised questions about electrical safety at swimming pools in Bengaluru. In an earlier case, nine-year-old Manya Damerla was electrocuted after she fell into the pool of the Prestige Lakeside Habitat apartment complex in Varthur while trying to fetch a ball. Police later arrested seven people in that case.
