Chronology of the Kaprun Tragedy
Nov. 11,
On a sunny winter day, skiers and snowboarders got into a ski-train 2, meters above ground level at the train's base station in Kaprun. The train was to take them to the Kitzsteinhorn mountain peak. The ski-train service inaugurated in is thought to be the first mountain underground funicular train in the world
At a.m. the ski-train was meters into the tunnel when tragedy stuck. A fire that began at the back of the train totally engulfed the train within seconds.
A passenger managed to smash a window with his ski-poles and 18 people escaped to safety.
At 1 p.m. the Premiere of Salzburg, Franz Schausberger, said there were no hopes for any survivors in the charred remains of the train.
At 5 p.m. Austrian Chancellor Wolfgang Schlüssel announced a period of country-wide mourning.
Nov. 16,
The official death toll is people, 37 of them were from Germany.
Jan. 30,
The gutted train was salvaged for the investigation.
Sept. 6,
Officials released the causes for the tragedy: The malfunctioning heater, located in the back of the train, ignited oil dripping from a hydraulic brake system. The fire spread to the plastic-coa
Rescuers trying to reach the train were thwarted by dense smoke |
On the morning of 11 November , men, women and children boarded a funicular train that should have taken them to the Kitzsteinhorn glacier.
But of them died in the blaze, in a tunnel high above the town of Kaprun.
Most of the victims choked to death as they fled uphill to escape the blaze, which reached 1,C.
"I did not realise the full extent of the catastrophe until two railway workers came directly from the tunnel All they had found was the metal base of the train," regional governor Franz Schausberger said at the time.
Toxic smoke
The fire broke out while the single-carriage train packed with skiers was entering the km tunnel.
Click here to see a graphic showing where the accident happened
The blaze acted like a giant chimney, sucking oxygen in from the bottom and sending toxic smoke billowing upwards.
My only thought was to get out. I was able to save myself at the last moment because a window was kicked in and I could fight my way out |
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Kaprun
For the Indigenous Australian ethnic group, see Kaprun people.
Municipality in Salzburg, Austria
Kaprun (German pronunciation:[kaˈpruːn]) is a municipality in the Zell am See District in the province of Salzburg in Austria. Together with the neighboring city of Zell am See the town presents itself as the tourist destination and skiing area "Zell am See-Kaprun". Kaprun distinguishes itself from its larger neighbor at the lake, by offering all year access to the Kitzsteinhorn with its Top of Salzburg viewing platform at metres (') altitude and its glacier ski area that is open October through May.
Geography
[edit]It is located in the Pinzgau region on the northern slopes of the Alpine Glockner Group with Mt. Großes Wiesbachhorn, 3,&#;m (11,&#;ft), part of the Hohe Tauern range, forming the border of Salzburg with Carinthia. Located at the foot of the Kitzsteinhorn glacier, Kaprun is a year-round sports center. The Kapruner Ache creek joins the Salzach River south of the settlement. The Mooserboden hydroelectric plant uses water from two reservoirs held back by some of Austria's largest dam walls. The reservoir area has become a tourist attraction, with v
The Truth About The Deadly Kaprun Railway Disaster
Railsystem goes on to describe that the train, created in and upgraded in , had no smoke alarms and no fire extinguishers within reach of passengers. The extinguishers were in a sealed attendant's cabin, and those inside had no way of contacting the attendant. As the train climbed the glacier in the early morning, the tragedy began when a heater caught fire in the rear conductor's cabin. This melted through the pipes that carried the hydraulic fluid, which was not only flammable but necessary for braking and other functions of the funicular. An automatic safety feature triggered, which brought the train to a halt, and the conductor realized a fire had broken out. However, the doors were controlled by the same hydraulic fluid, and a power wire had been melted, meaning he had no method of contacting the control center.
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The passengers attempted to break the tough acrylic glass in an effort to escape. One group managed to break through, and an ex-firefighter among them advised that they should descend the mountain, past the fire, to avoid smoke. They were the only passengers to survive. The conductor managed to get
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