Six managers and guides of a defunct Swiss adventure firm have been found guilty of negligent manslaughter for their part in the deaths of 21 tourists. The staff members of former company Adventure World were given suspended jail sentences and fined for the deaths, which occurred during a flash flood on a canyoning trip near Interlaken in central Switzerland in July 1999. Canyoning involves body-surfing down mountain rapids and waterfalls into gorges without a raft. The judge ruled that safety measures for the sport were inadequate and the firm was guilty of allowing the trip to go ahead, in spite of poor weather conditions The victims, from Britain, New Zealand, Australia and Switzerland, were part of a group of 45 tourists. Adventure World went out of business last year after a separate incident in which an American died during a bungee jump.
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