Most of the victims were skiers on their way to the Kitzsteinhorn Glacier. Kaprun disaster - Wikiwand from 9 a.m. until late afternoon in winter and until mid-evening in summer. The tunnel acted like a giant blast furnace, sucking oxygen in from the bottom and rapidly sent the poisonous smoke, heat and the fire itself billowing upwards. There were two carriages on a single track, with a section allowing the trains to pass each other halfway. The funicular was never re-opened after the disaster and was replaced by another gondola lift, a 24-person Gletscherjet 1 funitel. This paper looks at some of the lessons learned from the Kaprun funicular tunnel fire of 2000; the King's Cross underground station fire of 1987; the Baku subway fire of 1995 and the Channel Tunnel fire of 1996. [4], One of the victims was Sandra Schmitt, a 19-year-old German freestyle skier who at the time was the reigning Women's Dual Moguls World Champion. The 17-member Macedonian group was fatigued from their 24-hour journey to Austria and decided to rest instead of taking the funicular to Kitzsteinhorn. The extinguishers were in a sealed attendant's cabin, and those inside had no way of contacting the attendant. Lessons learned from catastrophic fires in tunnels The tunnel terminated at the main reception centre, called the Alpine Centre. In 1606 Archbishop Wolf Dietrich Raitenau had the local burgrave beheaded for siding with local insurgents. UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=34548260848&partnerID=8YFLogxK. celebrate its 120th year of providing service between the Kornmarkt, in Heidelberg's Altstadt, and the Knigstuhl, The fire raged for days as rescuers tried to save survivors, but in the end only 12 survived, with 155 dead in Austria's deadliest tragedy since World War II. It is believed that 155 died in the tunnel. They turned and ran for their lives." Copyright 1996-2023 Durant and Cheryl Kaprun (German pronunciation: [kaprun]) is a municipality in the Zell am See District in the state of Salzburg, Austria. The inhumane conditions were depicted by Nobel laureate Elfriede Jelinek in her 2003 play Das Werk. disclosures, audience. The majority of those in the train were Austrians and Germans, but Americans and Japanese also lost their lives in the flames. more information on riding the funicular or taking your vows on the trip up, "Kaprun-Katastrophe: Ex-Anklgerin bricht das Schweigen nach Urteil", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Kaprun_disaster&oldid=1147980225, Railway accidents and incidents in Austria, Short description is different from Wikidata, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 3 April 2023, at 09:55. 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. It is located in the Pinzgau region on the northern slopes of the Alpine Glockner Group with Mt. Everyone else aboard perished in the darkness after the blaze erupted at 9.30am near Kaprun, 9,000ft above sea level. On 19 February 2004, Judge Manfred Seiss acquitted all 16 suspects, including company officials, technicians, and government inspectors, clearing them of criminal negligence. The smoke killed the attendant and the only passenger in the other identical train. There were 12 survivors (10 Germans and two Austrians) from the burning ascending train. Austria ski tunnel fire case opens. Causes of the Kaprun Disaster - UKEssays.com There was no cellphone reception within the tunnels, which meant that passengers had no method of contacting the attendant. Most of the victims were skiers on their way to the Kitzsteinhorn Glaciers. In the late 1920s the German AEG company and the Salzburg state government developed plans for a Hohe Tauern hydroelectricity power plant, including two reservoirs in the Kaprun Valley. On 11 November 2000, it was the site of the Kaprun disaster, in which 149 skiers lost their lives in a tunnel fire. This nighttime picture of the funicular tunnel was taken with Disaster struck when the train had travelled about 600 yards up the two-mile tunnel. Asked about possible British casualties, Major Richard Schieder of the Austrian police said: "The problem is the people on board were very badly burnt so identification is going to be very difficult. The Gletscherbahn Kaprun 2 funicular train is waiting at the lower valley station. The fire melted through plastic pipes carrying flammable hydraulic fluid from the brake system, resulting in the loss of fluid pressure which caused the train to halt unexpectedly 600 metres into the tunnel (this was a standard safety feature). By Philip Sherwell, Michael Leidig in Vienna, Julian Coman in Kaprun, Jenny Booth and Daniel Foggo, Jewish leaders want to meet Guardian editor over anti-Semitic Richard Sharp cartoon, Islamic State leader killed in Syria by Turkish intelligence services, says president, The Kings Coronation could herald a beautiful bloom of wildflowers, Duke of Sussex waxwork reunited with royals at Madame Tussauds, Watch: Mark Selby claims first ever 147 in World Snooker Championship final, Manchester United fans demand complete removal of Glazers. Daron Rahlves Knows. The victims were also thought to include two Americans from a ski club at a US military base in Germany. The disaster claimed the lives of 155 people, leaving 12 survivors (10 Germans, 2 Austrians) from the burning car. Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. 155 skiers and staff perished in the flames and smoke, and the tunnel has remained . Chaprunne Castle was acquired by the Prince-Archbishops of Salzburg in 1287 and enfeoffed to the Lords of Felben in 1338. Welcome to Unofficial Networks's European Union Experience. Fatal tunnel sealed entrance Austria / Salzburg / Zell am See / abandoned / shut down, disaster site Where the funicular gletscherbahn kaprun 2 entered for his last ride ever.155 people died there,after the disaster the tunnel was sealed an the stations abandoned- Nearby cities: Coordinates: 4713'32"N 1243'14"E Add your comment in english The zoo set up a mock camping (). Imboden. Create a personalized feed and bookmark your favorites. The stations were abandoned and the tunnel sealed. The death count eclipsed the toll in the Italian ski resort of Cavalese in 1976 where 42 people died after a cable carrying suspended cars snapped. There were no engines, fuel tanks, or drivers, only low-voltage electrical systems, 160-litre hydraulic tanks (used for the brake system) and an attendant who operated the hydraulic doors. The disaster killed 155 people. Two fleeing workers in the Alpine Centre, upon seeing the smoke, alerted employees and customers and escaped via an emergency exit. The track cuts through a cliff and ridges as it heads up to the ski slopes. I only managed to save myself in the last few seconds because a window had been kicked in and I could fight my way outside.". . Another cause may have been a short circuit in a battery that provides lighting and power for the train or a fire started accidentally by a passenger. Many people were crying and screaming in fear for their lives. A memorial to the victims, located opposite the present valley station, was dedicated on 11 November, 2004. Commanded by Hermann Gring, construction began during World War II using prisoners of war from Belgium and other occupied countries and Jewish and Soviet forced labourers. The town is a tourist destination known as "Zell am See-Kaprun" with the neighbouring Zell am See and known for the glacier Kitzsteinhorn. / Miclea, Paul C.; Chow, Wan Ki; Chien, Shen Wen et al. The stations were abandoned and the tunnel sealed, and it remains unused today. Authorities have yet to discover the cause of the explosion. Professor Joseph Nejez, a funicular train expert, said that the designers throughout the years had a perception that a fire could not occur since no fire had occurred in a funicular cabin prior to the Kaprun disaster. Eventually, the conductor was able to unlock the doors, allowing them to be manually forced open by the remaining conscious passengers who spilled out into the tunnel and fled upwards and away from the fire. in early December. The train involved in the disaster caught fire shortly after leaving the valley station and entered the tunnel where it came to a halt 600 metres from the lower end. Franz Schausberger, the Salzburg governor, said: "It is a catastrophe of unprecedented proportions. The track and tunnel remained in place for over a decade after the disaster, although never used by paying passengers. The disaster killed 155 people (150 on the ascending train, two on the descending train and three in the mountain station). Heidelberger Bergbahn The sustainability of existing tunnels, given the increased road traffic and changed vehicle mix, or the new rolling stocks, needs innovative design practices. Minimum driver age is Get access to more than 30 brands, premium video, exclusive content, events, mapping, and more. The Austrian Nobel Prize winner Elfriede Jelinek incorporated the disaster in her 2003 play In den Alpen (In the alps). 11th of November, 2000 in Kaprun, Austria, WATCH: Ski Patrol Sets Off Major Avalanche At Crystal Mountain Resort, Windham Mountain Announces Plans To Become A Four-Season Destination Resort, VIDEO: Purposely Crossing Your Skis Prior To Takeoff Is A Bold Move, Oregon Ski Resort Extends Season Until Mid-May, Most of Yosemite Temporarily Closed Due To Snowmelt Flooding Concerns, Zoo Demonstrates What Happens When Campsites Aren't "Bear-Proof", Projected Closing Dates For Ski Resorts In The Northeast. International tunnel fire-safety design practices Many of the still-trapped occupants had by now lost consciousness due to toxic fumes. The railway's owners, Gletscherbahn Kaprun, said: "Due to a fire in the tunnel, there was a shorting in the electrical circuit, consequently causing the train travelling up to the ski slope to catch fire." The passengers had no method of contacting the attendant. for children) and the Tinnunculus Falknerei (where you can see falconry demonstrations All I wanted to do was to get out. Each funicular unit had its fire extinguishers out of the passengers' reach in the sealed attendants' compartments. Nearly one year after the fire, the official inquiry determined that the cause was the failure, overheating and ignition of one of the fan heaters installed in the conductor's compartments that were not designed for use in a moving vehicle. Groes Wiesbachhorn, 3,564m (11,693ft), part of the Hohe Tauern range, forming the border of Salzburg with Carinthia. "Best of the Web" Others died in the control center as the smoke was funneled toward them. funicular consists of two parts: The underground stretch from Kornmarkt to Molkenkur, which has all-new The smoke kept ascending the tunnel, reaching the Alpine Centre located at the top end of the track 2,500 metres away. - Forbes and The Washington Post. The catastrophic consequences of the tunnel fires (e.g., the Mont Blanc tunnel, 1999, the Austrian Kaprun funicular tunnel, 2000, and the Swiss St. Gotthard tunnel, 2001) not only resulted in loss of life, severe property damages, but also left the public with a lack of confidence in using such systems. All but three of the victims were discovered inside the tunnel. INSET BELOW: Maintenance workers collect leaves from the tracks The funicular was thoroughly overhauled and modernised six years ago. Tony Blair was told that British skiers were believed to be among the dead when he phoned Wolfgang Schossel, the Austrian chancellor, to offer his condolences, Downing Street said. There were 12 survivors. Austria's Kaprun railway disaster reveals lack of safety measures 8 Americans The Mooserboden hydroelectric plant uses water from two reservoirs held back by some of Austria's largest dam walls. For the Indigenous Australian ethnic group, see, "Dauersiedlungsraum der Gemeinden Politischen Bezirke und Bundeslnder - Gebietsstand 1.1.2018", "Einwohnerzahl 1.1.2018 nach Gemeinden mit Status, Gebietsstand 1.1.2018", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Kaprun&oldid=1118811962, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles with unsourced statements from October 2018, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 29 October 2022, at 01:52. Here is the full 44 "Fire on the Ski Slope" documentary television episode of "Seconds from Disaster", a documentary television series on National Geographic Channel. Only twelve people survived the disaster. DOCUMENTARY: The Kaprun Disaster, The Funicular Railway Fire That 2 Dutch If the steel cable was torn, as has been reported, the cable itself would run downhill and if it ran fast enough the friction could be the cause of the fire.". This railway had the unusual track gauge of 946 millimeters, and a length of 3900 meters, of which 3300 meters was through a tunnel. Kitzsteinhorn - Wikipedia The disaster killed 155 people (150 on the ascending train, two on the descending train and three in the mountain station). On 11 November 2000, 161 passengers and one conductor boarded the funicular train for an early morning trip to the slopes. The tunnel terminated at the main reception centre, called the Alpincenter, where a motorized winch system pulled the wagons. On 11 November 2000, it was the site of the Kaprun disaster, in which 149 skiers lost their lives in a tunnel fire. Inc.", Miclea, PC, Chow, WK, Chien, SW, Li, J, Kashef, AH & Kai, K 2007, '. The third section, from the Krefeld Hut, is 2,192 metres (1.362 miles) long and climbs 575 metres. Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. The train conductor then lost contact with the control centre, because the fire had burned through a 16kV power cable running alongside the length of the track, causing a total blackout throughout the ski resort. The total length of the system is just over 1.5 km. The structural flaws of the funicular trains, especially the lack of safety mechanisms, were found to have played a role in the tragedy. Friends and relatives of skiers started gathering soon after the tragedy, fearing the worst as emergency crews tried to determine who was dead and who was only unaccounted for. [5] Josef Schaupper, a seven-time Deaflympic medalist was also killed in the fatal accident along with his fellow deaf skiers. 4 Slovenians The US military in Germany said that two ski clubs from the Kaiserslautern military community were believed to have been in the Kaprun area yesterday. Firefighters reached the centre and saved one of the four, while the other three were asphyxiated. Professor Joseph Nejez, a funicular train expert, said that the designers throughout the years had a perception that a fire could not occur since no fire occurred in a funicular cabin prior to the Kaprun disaster. British holidaymakers were believed to be among the victims on the cable railway to the popular Kitzsteinhorn glacier. The Kaprun disasterwas a fire that occurred in an ascending train in the tunnel of the Gletscherbahn Kaprun 2 funicularin Kaprun, Austria, on 11 November 2000. Following the spate of tunnel fires which occurred in Europe at the turn of the century, the safety of European tunnels was assessed and found to be generally poor. Fire safety in rail and road tunnels is challenging because of the specific features of the tunnel environment. A modern funicular car arrives in the lower station of the The Kaprun disaster was a fire that occurred in an ascending train in the tunnel of the Gletscherbahn Kaprun 2 funicular in Kaprun, Austria on 11 November 2000.