Girl 'clinically dead' after sledge crash

Eighty children were on the ski trip to Austria

A London schoolgirl has been declared "clinically dead" after a sledging accident in Austria.

Fifteen-year-old Nasreen Jamalzadeh was tobogganing with a friend when their sledge hit a tree during a school skiing trip at Fusch near Salzburg.

It flipped over and Nasreen was thrown off, hitting her head on a rock.

Her father has demanded to know why the teenager had not been wearing a helmet.

The accident happened at 2230 local time (2130 GMT) on Monday night as the girls were sledging with an 80-strong group from Ursuline High School in Wimbledon, south west London, police said.

Life support machine

Nasreen's friend, named by police as 15-year-old Cathy Storey, from Wimbledon, was sitting behind her on the sledge and broke a bone in her hand in the accident.

Nasreen was put on a life support machine but a police spokesman said she had been pronounced clinically dead and was not expected to survive.

They had proper instruction and it was, as far as we know, an unfortunate accident

Keith Fearby, Club Europe

Police spokesman Peter Brodinger said: "No-one appears to have been wearing helmets. But it is not usual for helmets to be worn for sledging here."

Nasreen's mother and two of her brothers were hoping to reach her hospital bedside on Tuesday night, the Foreign Office said.

Nasreen's father, Razeem Jamalzadeh, was too upset to talk but he did say: "Why wasn't she wearing a helmet?"

Review under way

The family was told about the accident by teachers at the 1,000-pupil comprehensive girls' school, it is understood.

Shocked teachers from her school were contacting the parents of pupils on the ski trip to tell them about the accident, said a spokeswoman at the school.

Club Europe, which organised the trip, said a review of the accident would take place to see if any lessons could be learnt.

Our thoughts and prayers are with the family and friends of Nasreen Jamalzadeh

Headteacher Neil Calvert

Spokesman Keith Fearby said: "The children were tobogganing which was part of the programme and they were in a floodlit area.

"They had proper instruction and it was, as far as we know, an unfortunate accident."

He said the 80 pupils were accompanied by nine or 10 teachers on their week-long trip to the resort.

Information line

They were due back this Saturday but have cut short the trip to return to Britain by coach by Wednesday.

Ursuline High School and Merton Council, the school's local education authority, issued a joint statement about the accident.

Headteacher Dr Neil Calvert and Councillor Karl Carter said: "This is a very tragic accident and our thoughts and prayers are with the family and friends of Nasreen Jamalzadeh."

The statement went on: "The annual skiing trip was organised with a reputable travel company experienced and accredited in skiing holidays.

"We understand this is the first time an accident has occurred at the toboggan school which has been approved and checked by British tour operators and has been running since 1990."

An information line for parents whose children were on the school trip has been set up on 020 8545 3434 or 07780 901 527.