India

Bengaluru Hotel Pool Accident Sparks Electrical Safety Probe

By Arun Dev

Investigators are examining the underwater lighting system at the Conrad hotel in Bengaluru after two European guests, a German pilot and a Slovak project manager, were electrocuted when the lights were switched on. The Department of Electrical Inspectorate is focusing on a switch‑mode power supply that may have allowed current to leak into the pool. The unit converts high‑voltage AC to low‑voltage DC for the LED lights, and a failure in the unit or its wiring could have caused the leakage.

The victims, Alexander Maximilian Theiss, 52, a Lufthansa crew member on a layover, and Juraj Horvat, 45, an IBM project manager, died on Friday evening. Two others, Matthew DeSantis, 41, a U.S. national staying at the hotel, and pool attendant Rahul Tiwari, 28, were injured while attempting a rescue.

The Inspectorate is also checking whether safety devices such as earth‑leakage circuit breakers were functioning. A similar incident in December 2023, when a 10‑year‑old girl was electrocuted in an apartment pool, was linked to a failed LED strip driver.

Horvat’s wife, Silvia Hotuatova, 47, said the couple had arrived in India on October 20 for a holiday and were staying at the Conrad. She reported that her husband entered the pool at about 5:15 p.m. on Friday, and she found him motionless after hearing screams. A hotel employee who entered the pool to rescue him also suffered an electric shock.

Halasuru police have registered a death‑by‑negligence case under Section 106 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita against the hotel management. A Conrad spokesperson said the cause of the incident had not yet been established and that the hotel would fully cooperate with the investigation.

The article was written by Arun Dev, Assistant Editor, Karnataka bureau, Hindustan Times.