Two owners of a farm in Austria were acquitted following the death of a Romanian worker who was seriously injured in a fire

A 38-year-old Romanian worker died after a fire broke out during the night of December 22, 2025, at a horse farm in the Bruck an der Leitha district of Lower Austria. The man lived in a container with his brother and was seriously injured in the fire.

Prosecutors told the Korneuburg Regional Court that the 57-year-old farm owner and her partner allegedly hid the worker in an office while firefighters and police officers were responding at the farm. According to the charges, rescue teams were not informed about the victim’s existence for approximately 20 minutes, and medical care was allegedly provided with a delay of nearly 30 minutes.

The two brothers managed to get out of the container engulfed in flames, but the victim had suffered extremely severe burns. He was later taken to Vienna General Hospital, where he died several hours later. The forensic pathologist stated that the injuries were incompatible with life, but that earlier assistance could have reduced his suffering.

The defendants denied the allegations and claimed that the response had been chaotic and that they had not understood the severity of the worker’s condition. The court acquitted them, finding that it had not been proven that they knew how seriously the man was injured.