Teacher dies in 'freak' walking accident on school trip to Austria

A teacher has died on a school trip to Austria in a "freak walking accident".

Jonathan Taylor, an IT teacher at the Christ the King School in Arnold, Nottinghamshire, was walking with staff and students when he tripped over a log and hit his head.

Mr Taylor, 44, was killed instantly.

The Daily Mail reports that the accident happened on Saturday. David Wilson, chair of the governors at the Christ the King School said he had been at the school for a year.

Principal Carlo Cuomo has flown to Austria.

According to the Daily Telegraph, medics were called to the scene at Matrei, East Tyrol, and said the teacher landed on his head.

A police spokesman said: "He was the last in the group, they were walking on a footpath above the road and for some reason he fell, rolled over a bank and then plunged over the edge of the stone wall on which the path ran. He fell four meters down from the path onto the road."

The group of about 50 pupils, aged 14 to 15, is expected to return home on Monday.

The BBC reports that a Foreign Office spokesman confirmed a British national had dies in Austria and that the "school children were being looked after".

Students paid tribute on Twitter, calling Mr Taylor "a lovely man" and a "highly respected teacher".

Mr Taylor leaves a wife, said Mr Wilson.

Related articles

British teacher dies in ski accident in French Alps

British teenager dies from dehydration while hiking on holiday in Australia

British school girl dies on ski trip after falling 20ft from chairlift in Italian Alps