A tourist has died and another is fighting for her life after a man allegedly sexually assaulted them and threw them off a bridge into a deep ravine on Wednesday at a famous “fairytale” German castle.
The tourists, aged 21 and 22, fell 165ft down a ravine near the castle of Neuschwanstein, near the Austrian border.
The 21-year-old died overnight at a nearby hospital following the alleged attacks, while the 22-year-old remains in critical condition.
Bavarian police said the attacker was a 30-year-old US national, DW reports.
The women involved are also Americans, according to the Associated Press, citing German prosecutors.
Police said the man fled but was arrested after the incident on Wednesday.
“The crime happened on Wednesday around 2.40pm,” Chief Public Prosecutor Thomas Hörmann told German tabloid Bild. “The two tourists met the man on a hiking tour east of the Marienbrücke.”
Marienbrücke, a pedestrian bridge with sweeping views of the castle, sits above a high river gorge.
“The man then steered the two under a pretext to a trail that was difficult to see, which leads to a viewpoint,” Bavarian police said in a statement.
Once out of sight, the 30-year-old assailant reportedly tried to attack the women, going after the younger woman first, prompting the 22-year-old to try and defend her, police said.
“The younger of the two women was attacked by the suspect,” police spokesman Holger Stabik told the AP. “The older one tried to rush to her aid, was then choked by the suspect and subsequently pushed down a slope. ”
After that, the man made an "attempted sexual offence" on the 21-year-old and pushed her over the ledge as well, DW reports.
Specially trained members of the Alpine Task Force were involved in the attempted rescue of both women.
Officials haven’t released the names of those involved in the incident.
On Thursday, a spokesperson for the US Embassy did not confirm or deny whether those involved in the attack are Americans.
“The U.S. Consulate in Munich is monitoring the situation closely and is in contact with authorities. Due to privacy considerations, we are unable to comment further at this time,” officials told The Daily Beast.
The suspect was caught after a massive police operation involving 25 emergency vehicles on Wednesday afternoon and taken to a police station in nearby Fuessen
Bystander video posted online showed police leading away a handcuffed, bearded man in a T-shirt, jeans and a baseball cap.
Witness Eric Abneri, a recent business graduate from the University of Pittsburgh who shot the video, said the man appeared to have scratches across his face.
“He did not say a single word. He didn’t open his mouth; he didn’t mumble,” Mr Abneri told The Associated Press. “He just walked with the police and that was it.”
Mr Abneri said he and friends arrived at the scenic overlook as a helicopter arrived and they saw rescuers lower themselves down to the victims.
“I’m honestly absolutely stunned someone is still alive from this. It is like falling from the top of an absolute cliff,” he said. He described it as “a very, very difficult rescue because of those cliffs and because the helicopter came mere feet above the tree line at the top of the hill.”
“They did an unbelievable job,” he said.
The American suspect is in a German correctional facility, as officials investigate the attack as a potential sexual offence, murder, and attempted murder.
“The allegation is not yet established,” prosecutor Thomas Hörmann told DW.
Kempten criminal police are leading the investigation, and are asking those with knowledge of the incident to get in contact with them.
Neuschwanstein castle was built by King Ludwig II of Bavaria, with construction beginning in 1869.
The towering estate is one of Germany‘s most popular tourist attractions and is said to have been the inspiration for various Disney castles
