Kieran Brookes: Teenager died in the French Alps because of ’10 seconds of carelessness'

The prosecution said 'human error' played a part in the 14-year-old's death

Kieran Brookes died in March 2011 (PA)

A ski-lift attendant and operator have been accused of health-and-safety breaches in court after the death of a British teenager in the French Alps.

In February 2011, Kieran Brookes, 14, died after his backpack straps became entangled as he tried to get off a six-person ski-lift in the Chatel resort near Geneva. He had been on a school trip at the time.

The Torquay Boys’ Grammar School pupil, from Devon, was taken to a French hospital with a severe brain injury.

He died the following month after being transferred to the Royal Devon Exeter Hospital Intensive Care Unit.

On 6 October, a criminal court in eastern France heard from Richard Cettour, 50, who was supervising the lift at the time and a lawyer for lift operator SAEM Sports et Tourisme a Chatel.

Both facing one count of indirect manslaugher, the BBC reported they were accused of not enforcing a rule to prohibit skiers from boarding the lift while wearing backpacks.

Both were also accused of failing to carry out daily checks on equipment and not ensuring a safety device which could stop the lift was properly installed.

The court heard Mr Cettour was cleaning his tools inside his hut rather than being at his post at the time of the tragedy. The attendant was also accused of not reacting to other skiers’ calls to hit the emergency stop.

According to the Telegraph, Mr Cettour said: "I saw a person come into the hut. She was screaming... she was panic-stricken. I came out. I saw young Kieran's skis on the floor."

He then apologised to Kieran's parents.

Mr Cettour's lawyer, Luc Hintermann, told the court: “He was doing something that was an ordinary part of his job. He couldn’t have known that these 10 seconds of carelessness would end like this. He will carry the weight of this responsibility with him."

SAEM’s lawyer, Thomas Painta, said the company recognised its “civil guilt”, but not its “criminal guilt”.

“There is no proof Kieran Brookes had a backpack on when he got on the lift,” said Mr Painta.

Prosecutor Patrick Steinmetz called for Mr Cettour to be given a one-year jail sentence and for SAEM to be fined £55,500.

“I am convinced that there was human error, inattention that lasted too long on the operator’s part. But he is not the only one responsible,” said Mr Steinmetz, according to The Telegraph.

The family’s lawyer, Mark Montaldo, said “the tragic case must serve as a wake-up call to all ski resorts… short-cuts and failings can cost lives”.

Kieran’s father, Nick Brookes, told the court: “More has to be done to stop such a thing ever happening again.”

The judges are expected to hand down their ruling next month. A separate civil case against the company’s insurers is expected to be heard in the UK.