The big fire had broken out in the night of Saturday, now the extent of the destruction is apparent: The flames destroyed two wooden huts in the Austrian World Heritage Site Hallstatt completely and damaged two other buildings, as the news agency APA reported. A firefighter was badly injured during the firefighting.
Accordingly, the fire broke out in the morning in one of the wooden huts, initially unexplained. More than a hundred firefighters were on duty until noon to extinguish the fire. Because of the close development in Hallstatt also the adjacent houses are badly damaged, quoted APA a spokesman for the fire department.
The fire department prevented but a spreading of the flames on the historic center, residents of the affected houses brought in time to safety. The seriously injured firefighter was taken to a clinic in Bad Ischl.
DPA
Hallstatt: Up to one million tourists come annually
Hallstatt is famous for the oldest salt mine in the world. The town is actually a village: Only 780 inhabitants has the place. Every year, up to one million day visitors visit the place, Hallstatt recorded about 150,000 overnight stays last year. Especially with Chinese, the place is popular. Together with the Dachstein and the Inner Salzkammergut Hallstatt forms a Unesco World Heritage Site.
