Fire in the tunnel: Night train Nightjet with 370 passengers had to be evacuated. © ZOOM. TIROL / APA / AFP
Large-scale operation on Wednesday evening in Tyrol. A night train caught fire in a railway tunnel. All passengers had to be evacuated.
Fritzens – A fire broke out in a railway tunnel near Fritzens in the Austrian state of Tyrol on Wednesday evening. More than 30 people were injured. The control center of the emergency services announced on Thursday night that a night train (Nightjet) of the Austrian Federal Railways (ÖBB) was in the tunnel at the time. According to ÖBB, an overhead line damage had triggered the fire in the tunnel. Most recently, a sad incident occurred in Austria in rail traffic: A bear was run over by Zug near the Bavarian border.
Fire in Tyrolean railway tunnel: emergency services evacuate 151 passengers, 33 of them slightly injured
In the incident on Wednesday evening, all 151 passengers were evacuated from the train until shortly before midnight, according to the state of Tyrol. The night train had originally been travelling from Innsbruck to Hamburg and Amsterdam. The smoke in the tunnel made it difficult to rescue the passengers. According to information from the Austrian press agency APA, the evacuation was only possible with fire escape hoods.
Fire in railway tunnel in Tyrol (Austria): A fully occupied Nightjet had to be evacuated. © ZOOM. TIROL / APA / AFP
Nightjet evacuated: 151 passengers on the train to Hamburg and Amsterdam
33 people were slightly injured and taken to hospitals with suspected smoke poisoning. Around 700 emergency personnel were deployed in the incident. Previously, the emergency services had assumed up to 370 passengers because of the seat reservations. The police had spoken of around 50 slightly injured.
Fire in Tyrolean railway tunnel triggers large-scale operation: cars on the train apparently caught fire
The cause of the overhead line damage that later triggered the fire is still unclear. According to initial findings, a car caught fire on a car wagon of the train due to the damage. As the broadcaster ORF and the APA news agency further reported, an overhead line had fallen on cars. They would then have caught fire. At that time, the train was running through the Terfens railway tunnel near Fritzens.
The night train could not continue because of the fire, around 21.00 clock a major alarm was triggered. Rescue tents had been set up for the evacuated passengers. All people who did not need medical care were taken by bus to Innsbruck, where sleeping facilities were also organized for all those affected. The ÖBB tweeted: "The rescue chain and evacuation worked well." Currently, the route is closed in the tunnel. (nz/dpa)
