Some bodies were found on narrow stairs leading upward from the train, indicating that they had managed to get out but were overcome by smoke. 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. Tunnel safety can only be improved if the lessons of past incidents are learned properly. The lower section of the funicular, which runs underground from the There were 12 survivors (10 Germans and two Austrians) from the burning ascending train. 170 perish in Alpine tunnel inferno. Gletscherbahn 2 was a funicular railway with two carriages running from Kaprun to the Kitzsteinhorn which opened on 23 March 1974. 8 Americans The fire melted through plastic pipes carrying flammable hydraulic fluid from the braking system, and the resulting loss of fluid pressure caused the train to halt unexpectedly (this was a standard safety feature). Only 12 survivors escaped from the scene of the fire. Some recent advances in technology, specifically state-of-the-art ventilation and water suppression systems, are also discussed. The Kaprun disasterwas a fire that occurred in an ascending train in the tunnel of the Gletscherbahn Kaprun2 funicular in Kaprun, Austria, on 11 November 2000. N2 - 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. visit the English-language If you live outside the On November 11, 2000, over 100 skiers were riding a cable car funicular train in Kaprun, Austria, excited for a day traversing the Alps. The undamaged "Gletscherdrachen" car was confiscated by the Salzburg authorities for the investigations and will be brought back to the operators of Kaprun skiing area. In 2022, the Heidelberger Bergbahn will Each train had four passenger compartments and a cab at front and rear for the attendant, who switched back and forth as they travelled up and down. Getting married? [citation needed], A Chataprunnin (derived from Celtic for "whitewater") settlement in the Duchy of Bavaria was first mentioned in a 931 deed, documented as a possession held by the Counts of Falkenstein in 1166. It was first climbed in 1828 by local mountaineer Johann Entacher. Prior to the passenger train leaving the lower terminus shortly after 9:00 am, the electric fan heater in the unattended cabin at the lower end of the train caught fire, due to a design fault that caused the unit to overheat. The Kaprun 2 Funicular ran between the Kaprun valley and the Kitzsteinhorn Glacier, safely transporting millions of skiers and tourists since 1974. The tunnel entrance is visible in the background. The tunnel acted like a giant chimney, sucking oxygen in from the bottom and rapidly sent the poisonous smoke, heat and the fire itself billowing upwards. Only 12 people survived the accident at the Alpine ski resort of Kaprun when fire raced through a funicular train, bringing its two crowded carriages to a halt in a tunnel. Imboden. On 19 February 2004, Judge Manfred Seiss acquitted all 16 suspects, including company officials, technicians, and government inspectors, clearing them of criminal negligence. MORE than 170 skiers and . Absolutely heartbreaking. Today, the completely renovated in 1890, with service to the castle and to the settlement of Molkenkur. 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. The intensity of the fire required the bodies to be identified with DNA samples, which forensic experts are now collecting. The stations were abandoned and the tunnel sealed. The carriages each had a maximum capacity of 180 passengers. Get access to more than 30 brands, premium video, exclusive content, events, mapping, and more. 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.". The disaster killed 155 people. Mrs Fortyer said: "He saw smoke coming out of the tunnel and they opened the door and fumes just poured out. . On 19 February 2004, Judge Manfred Seiss acquitted all 16 suspects. MORE than 170 skiers and snowboarders, many of them children, choked and burnt to death yesterday when fire swept through a packed funicular train trapped inside a mountainside tunnel in the Austrian Alps. that travel in opposite directions and pass each other at the midpoint of their Members get 15+ publications right in your pocket. | Authorities had no nationalities for the four remaining victims. By continuing you agree to the use of cookies, PolyU Scholars Hub data protection policy. Download the app. The track and tunnel remained in place for over a decade after the disaster, although never used by paying passengers. Experts from the Austrian infrastructure ministry arrived at the scene to start their investigation, but officials said there were no plans to close the country's other underground funiculars. Each funicular unit had its fire extinguishers out of the passengers' reach in the sealed attendants' compartments. Minimum driver age is There were two carriages running simultaneously on a single track, with a section allowing them to pass each other halfway. Ticket prices depend on how far you're traveling, and on whether you want to Nearly one year after the fire, the official inquiry determined the cause was the failure, overheating and ignition of one of the electric heaters installed in the conductors compartments that were not designed for use in a moving vehicle. The railway had the unusual track gauge of 946mm (.mw-parser-output .frac{white-space:nowrap}.mw-parser-output .frac .num,.mw-parser-output .frac .den{font-size:80%;line-height:0;vertical-align:super}.mw-parser-output .frac .den{vertical-align:sub}.mw-parser-output .sr-only{border:0;clip:rect(0,0,0,0);height:1px;margin:-1px;overflow:hidden;padding:0;position:absolute;width:1px}3ft1+14in) and a length of 3,900 metres (12,800ft), with 3,300 metres (10,800ft) of track inside a tunnel. 1 Czech. Kaprun (German pronunciation: [kaprun]) is a municipality in the Zell am See District in the state of Salzburg, Austria. In this section I will briefly explain the events that are known as the Kaprun disaster. cars and a tunnel with the latest fire-safety technology; The longer above-ground stretch In 1606 Archbishop Wolf Dietrich Raitenau had the local burgrave beheaded for siding with local insurgents. Paul C. Miclea, Wan Ki Chow, Shen Wen Chien, Junmei Li, Ahmed H. Kashef, Kang Kai, Research output: Journal article publication Journal article Academic research peer-review. For example, reliable and early fire detection in tunnels can provide the tunnel operator with early warnings of fire and its location, allowing for timely activation of the emergency response such as the emergency ventilation system. Only twelve people survived the disaster. An automatic safety feature triggered, which brought the train to a halt, and the conductor realized a fire had broken out. Professional Skier Kyle Smaine, 31, Killed in Avalanche in Japan, American Travis Ganong Finishes Third in the Most Dangerous Downhill Race in the World. The passengers, by this stage aware of the fire and unable to exit through the doors, attempted to break the shatter-resistant acrylic windows in order to escape. An avalanche killed 12 people last March south of Salzburg, in the same region. REUTERS/Calle Toernstroem REUTERS AX/FMS RF 2HK1C06 - The town of Zell am See in the Zell am See-Kaprun region, Austrian Alps, Salcburger land The town is a tourist destination known as "Zell am See-Kaprun" with the neighbouring Zell am See and known for the glacier Kitzsteinhorn. Judge Seiss said there was insufficient evidence to find the suspects responsible for the conditions that led to the blaze. 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. The Kaprun disaster was a fire that occurred in an ascending railway car in the tunnel of the Gletscherbahn 2 railway in Kaprun, Austria, on 11 November 2000. The track cuts through a cliff and ridges as it heads up to the ski slopes. For example, reliable and early fire detection in tunnels can provide the tunnel operator with early warnings of fire and its location, allowing for timely activation of the emergency response such as the emergency ventilation system. The clear blue skies and a planned ski competition meant that the two carriages were packed as they entered the tunnel on the first day of the winter season at the year-round ski resort. All I wanted to do was to get out. The reservoir area has become a tourist attraction, with views over the towns of Kaprun and Zell am See. It is located in the Pinzgau region on the northern slopes of the Alpine Glockner Group with Mt. 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.". In the early 20th century the castle was a possession of Prince Johann II of Liechtenstein, who sold it in 1921. The disaster killed 155 people (150 on the ascending train, two on the descending train and three in the mountain station). and a length of 3.9 kilometres (2.4 miles), of which 3.3 kilometres (2.1 miles) was through a tunnel. Miclea PC, Chow WK, Chien SW, Li J, Kashef AH, Kai K. International tunnel fire-safety design practices. Mrchenparadies (a fairy-tale park Only eight of the estimated 180 passengers are thought to have escaped the carnage after breaking the window of the rear carriage and scrambling to safety. One train would carry passengers up the mountain while the other train simultaneously descended the mountain. 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. 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. 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. They tried to tear open the closed doors and to smash the windows. ascent or descent. The terrible fire on the Kaprun funicular railway has exposed a criminal lack of safety procedures. 10 Japanese Copyright 1996-2023 Durant and Cheryl The second section, to the Krefeld Hut, climbs 554 metres. The victims were also thought to include two Americans from a ski club at a US military base in Germany. Six more deaths occurred indirectly. [6][7], Coordinates: .mw-parser-output .geo-default,.mw-parser-output .geo-dms,.mw-parser-output .geo-dec{display:inline}.mw-parser-output .geo-nondefault,.mw-parser-output .geo-multi-punct{display:none}.mw-parser-output .longitude,.mw-parser-output .latitude{white-space:nowrap}471332.26N 124314.67E / 47.2256278N 12.7207417E / 47.2256278; 12.7207417. The train complied with area safety codes, which did not address the systems installed on the train during its 1993 upgrade. They mistakenly left the exit doors open, a factor which increased the chimney effect within the tunnel by allowing air to escape upwards more quickly and further intensifying the fire. Today, the completely renovated funicular consists of two parts: . 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. Bergbahn. Construction stopped in 1942/43, and was restarted after the war by Allied-occupied Austria from 1947. On November 11, 2000, over 100 skiers were riding a cable car funicular train in Kaprun, Austria, excited for a day traversing the Alps. Residents and holidaymakers arrived in stunned silence at the village's Roman Catholic Church last night for a Mass, the first of many services to be held across the country after two days of national mourning were declared. When it was built in 1974 the system was described as "fireproof". The train conductor then lost contact with the control centre because the fire burned through a power cable running the length of the track, causing a total blackout. Klaus Eisenkolb, a cable car technical expert who was involved in the planning for the line, said: "There is nothing inside the tunnel which could have caused the fire as everything inside was constructed from steel and all electrical cables are covered in fireproof material. A military spokesman at the 86th Airlift Wing in Ramstein had no immediate details. @article{3e91232b8fab481f8f9eeb9311e08566. 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 inhumane conditions were depicted by Nobel laureate Elfriede Jelinek in her 2003 play Das Werk. from 9 a.m. until late afternoon in winter and until mid-evening in summer. Railsystem goes on to describe that the train, created in 1974 and upgraded in 1993, had no smoke alarms and no fire extinguishers within reach of passengers. 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. The Gletscherbahn Kaprun 2 was a funicular railway running from Kaprun to the Kitzsteinhorn, which opened in 1974. The 2007 fire in the Burnley tunnel in Australia is highlighted as an example of an incident where technology prevented the initial fire growing into a catastrophe. Austrian police said that most of the victims had been burnt to ashes by a fire so ferocious that it destroyed everything but the train's chassis. The ignition was caused when a design fault caused the unit to overheat, which in turn caused the plastic mount for the heating element to break off, causing the element to jam against its plastic casing and catch fire. Even without the heat the fumes were absolutely terrible. ABOVE: The upper section of the Heidelberger . and the Schloss or castle on the hill overlooking the old town.). Testing skis and winter gear is hard work (just ask our boot testers)but someone's gotta do it. Miclea, Paul C. ; Chow, Wan Ki ; Chien, Shen Wen et al. Gletscherbahn Kaprun 2 funicular fire in Austria killed 155 people on abstract = "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. The tragedy occurred Monday, when the Kitzsteinhorn-bound funicular burst into flames in a tunnel, trapping nearly all of its passengers. Tuesday, investigators found an oily substance on a mountain railway in Austria, offering the first potential clue. Located at the foot of the Kitzsteinhorn Glacier, Kaprun is a year-round sports centre.

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