Night train passengers rescued after a tunnel fire in Austria spent the night in Innsbruck. Authorities reported no major injuries to those rescued. The train was heading towards Hamburg and Amsterdam when the accident happened around 9 p.m. 33 passengers were taken to hospital with minor injuries or suspected smoke inhalation, the others to accommodation. A total of 151 people were rescued from the train.
According to the fire brigade, the people were brought to safety with so-called escape hoods. This is a hood with a viewing window and filter that is intended to prevent toxic gases from being inhaled. The rescue workers worked their way from the emergency entrances into the tunnel from both sides to the middle of the train to save the passengers, some of whom were trapped, reported fire brigade commander Jakob Unterladstätter to the ORF Tirol broadcaster.
The investigations into the exact course of the accident continued. In the Terfens railway tunnel, which is a good 15 kilometers long, an overhead line fell on cars that were being transported on the train, for reasons that were initially unclear. The cars caught fire. At the time, the train was at Fritzens, around 20 kilometers east of Innsbruck. There were no estimates of the extent of the damage as of Thursday. According to the fire department, the rescue operation was completed around 11 p.m.
