Some recent advances in technology, specifically state-of-the-art ventilation and water suppression systems, are also discussed. Today the summit can be easily reached using the Glacier Aerial Tramway from the valley station at 911 m (2,989 ft), including the highest cable car pylon in the world, being 113.6 m (373 ft) tall with a diameter of 2.2 m (7 ft 3 in). Conditions yesterday appear to have been every bit as extreme as in the Mont Blanc road tunnel where 45 people died in March 1999 in the last big tunnel fire in mainland Europe. disclosures, audience. 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. Some recent advances in technology, specifically state-of-the-art ventilation and water suppression systems, are also discussed. year-round). The train, called the Gletscherbahn 2, was carrying passengers up to the Kitzsteinhorn Glacier, according to Railsystem. Others died in the control center as the smoke was funneled toward them. the Heidelberger Bergbahn's tunnel and subterranean funicular were closed and completely rebuilt after the Gletscherbahn Kaprun 2 funicular fire in Austria killed 155 people on November 11, 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. 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. 170 perish in Alpine tunnel inferno. The track and supporting structure below the tunnel has now been completely removed, with just a gap in the trees to indicate where it stood. 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. Create a personalized feed and bookmark your favorites. 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. time is 2 minutes from the Kornmarkt to the Schloss, On 19 February 2004, Judge Manfred Seiss acquitted all 16 suspects. The tunnel terminated at the main reception centre, called the Alpine Centre. For many, the funicular was until yesterday part of the area's attraction. Join Outside+ to get access to exclusive content, thousands of training plans, and more. The Kapruner Ache creek joins the Salzach River south of the settlement. Salvage workers and police continue to work steadily to identify victims and to discover the cause of the catastrophe. Unfortunately, most of them would never make it. What Does It Take to Win Birds of Prey? They 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. 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. [5] Josef Schaupper, a seven-time Deaflympic medalist was also killed in the fatal accident along with his fellow deaf skiers. The new funicular opened in 2005, making it both the oldest One train would carry passengers up the mountain while the other train simultaneously descended the mountain. parts. They turned and ran for their lives." The conductor and the sole passenger on the railway's second train, which was descending the mountain in the same tunnel from above the burning carriage, also died of smoke inhalation. - Forbes and The Washington Post. from Molkenkur to Knigstuhl (shown above), which uses antique cars with modern working from 9 a.m. until late afternoon in winter and until mid-evening in summer. Heidelberg Student Prison - Studentenkarzer, Contact information, The fire was traced to an electric fan heater that overheated and caught fire, severing a number of . Kaprun (German pronunciation: ) is . Kaprun - A new future for the Gletscherbahn Kaprun 2 funicular 155 skiers and staff perished in the flames and smoke, and the tunnel has remained . Lessons learned from catastrophic fires in tunnels There were 12 survivors (10 Germans and two Austrians) from the burning ascending train. Air-Conditoning Eng. Like other underground funiculars around the world, the It could carry up to 180 passengers. Forensic technicians refuse to give information about the substance other than it is being chemically analyzed and appears similar in consistency to a lubricant. Kaprun Archives - Funimag photoblog The smoke continued to rise up the tunnel, reaching the Alpine Centre located at the top end of the track 2,500m (8,200ft) away. The train conductor, who was in the cabin at the upper end of the train (which was the front, since the train was ascending), realised a fire had broken out, reported it to the control centre, and attempted to open the hydraulically operated train doors, but the system pressure loss prevented them from operating. Kaprun disaster: One hundred fifty-five skiers and snowboard | The The new funicular opened in 2005, making it both the oldest and most modern of . The twelve survivors of the disaster were the passengers who travelled downhill past the fire at the rear of the train, escaping the upward-rising fumes and smoke. disclosures, audience |. Download the app. The victims of the disaster included:[2], 92 Austrians The tragedy occurred Monday, when the Kitzsteinhorn-bound funicular burst into flames in a tunnel, trapping nearly all of its 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. It was first climbed in 1828 by local mountaineer Johann Entacher. 12 minute documentary detailing the tragic events of 11th of November, 2000 in Kaprun, Austria when a funicular railway fire on in the middle of a tunnel claimed the lives 155 people, the majority of which skiers on their way to the Kitzsteinhorn Glacier. 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. Kaprun disaster The structural flaws of the funicular trains, especially the lack of safety mechanisms, were found to have played a role in the tragedy. Web site. International tunnel fire-safety design practices. Contact information, 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. The smoke kept ascending the tunnel, reaching the Alpine Centre located at the top end of the track 2,500 metres away. Meanwhile, the centre filled with smoke and all except four people escaped from the centre. UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=34548260848&partnerID=8YFLogxK. 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 disaster of the Gletscherbahn Kaprun 2 funicular - YouTube The funicular was never reopened after the disaster and was replaced by a gondola lift, a 24-person Gletscherjet 1 funitel. Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers - Civil Engineering The disaster killed 155 people. November 11, 2000. Mrchenparadies (a fairy-tale park Most of the victims were skiers on their way to the Kitzsteinhorn Glacier. The unit had its fire extinguishers out of the passengers reach in the sealed attendant compartments. Only 12 survivors escaped from the scene of the fire. The passengers attempted to break the tough acrylic glass in an effort to escape. Understand [] Kaprun III, with 113.6 m the tallest aerial tramway support pillar in the world. Other Austrian cable cars that resemble the one at Kitzsteinhorn have been halted for safety checks. The passengers had no method of contacting the attendant. funicular consists of two parts: The underground stretch from Kornmarkt to Molkenkur, which has all-new By evening, several hours after the blaze ended, plumes of smoke were still spewing from the tunnel entrance, as firemen wearing breathing gear worked their way down the tunnel. Medical and psychiatric personnel have been providing support for the rescue workers due to the macabre scene. It is located in the Pinzgau region on the northern slopes of the Alpine Glockner Group with Mt. The second section, to the Krefeld Hut, climbs 554 metres. This nighttime picture of the funicular tunnel was taken with This railway had the unusual track gauge of 946 millimeters, and a length of 3900 meters, of which 3300 meters was through a tunnel. 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. The Kaprun 2 Funicular ran between the Kaprun valley and the Kitzsteinhorn Glacier, safely transporting millions of skiers and tourists since 1974. This railway had the unusual track gauge of 946 millimetres (3.104 feet), and a length of 3.9 kilometres (2.4 miles), of which 3.3 kilometres (2.1 miles) was through a tunnel. 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. On 11 November 2000, it was the site of the Kaprun disaster, in which 149 skiers lost their lives in a tunnel fire. The Kaprun disaster - Timenote Twelve people from the rear of the train, who successfully broke a window with a ski pole, followed the advice of another escapee who had been a volunteer fire fighter for 20 years, and escaped downwards past the fire and below the smoke. It was impossible to breathe." The tunnel entrance is visible in the background. The disaster killed 155 people (150 on the ascending train, two on the descending train and three in the mountain station). Survivors described horrifying scenes as people trapped inside the train screamed with terror before the choking fumes silenced them. Disaster struck when the train had travelled about 600 yards up the two-mile tunnel. The intensity of the fire required the bodies to be identified with DNA samples, which forensic experts are now collecting. The Kaprun disaster refers to the fire that occurred on November 11th 2000 in the tunnel of the Gletscherbahn (glacier train in German) Kaprun 2 funicular (cable railway) in Kaprun, Austria, not far from Salzburg. The funicular runs daily Kaprun is a typical Alpine village, its streets lined by traditional stucco and wood chalet-style houses and hotels, their overhanging roofs iced in winter with a thick layer of snow. for children) and the Tinnunculus Falknerei (where you can see falconry demonstrations All the passengers ascending on foot, as well as the train conductor, were asphyxiated by the smoke and then burned by the fire. Whatever the cause, the flames and smoke raced up through the tunnel with such speed and force that three people waiting at a station on the mountain were also killed by the fumes, as was the driver of an empty train travelling downhill. Inc.", Miclea, PC, Chow, WK, Chien, SW, Li, J, Kashef, AH & Kai, K 2007, '. The town is a tourist destination known as "Zell am See-Kaprun" with the neighbouring Zell am See and known for the glacier Kitzsteinhorn. 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. The funicular was thoroughly overhauled and modernised six years ago. ABOVE: The upper section of the Heidelberger Meanwhile, the centre was filled with smoke and all except four people escaped the centre. The Truth About The Deadly Kaprun Railway Disaster - Grunge Ticket prices depend on how far you're traveling, and on whether you want to Built with Bucyrus equipment and massive help from the Marshall Plan European Recovery Program, the power plant became an icon of post-war reconstruction. The cable car caught fire in a mountain tunnel, making it difficult to access for rescuers and for those trapped inside to escape (via UPI ). author = "Miclea, {Paul C.} and Chow, {Wan Ki} and Chien, {Shen Wen} and Junmei Li and Kashef, {Ahmed H.} and Kang Kai". The tragedy occurred Monday, when the Kitzsteinhorn-bound funicular burst into flames in a tunnel, trapping nearly all of its passengers. British holidaymakers were believed to be among the victims on the cable railway to the popular Kitzsteinhorn glacier. Located at the foot of the Kitzsteinhorn Glacier, Kaprun is a year-round sports centre. the camera looking downhill from the Schloss station toward Kornmarkt. 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. All rights reserved. Unofficial From The Web Climbing There were 12 survivors (10 Germans and two Austrians) from the burning ascending train. Kaprun - Travel guide at Wikivoyage Eighteen people survived the wreck, twelve who saved themselves from the cable car after they broke a window with a ski, and six who had been waiting at the top of the tunnel. The train complied with area safety codes, which did not address the systems installed on the train during its 1993 upgrade. They were desperately trying to find a way out. The topping out ceremony was held on 23 September 1955, a few months after the signing of the Austrian State Treaty. Daron Rahlves Knows. [citation needed]. Kitzsteinhorn - Wikipedia There was disbelief when it emerged last night that there was no fire-fighting equipment in the tunnel or on the train. Fire safety in rail and road tunnels is challenging because of the specific features of the tunnel environment. A military spokesman at the 86th Airlift Wing in Ramstein had no immediate details. or "King's Chair," with its spectacular views and activities such as the AB - 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 Kitzsteinhorn is accessed by the Gletscherbahn 1, an aerial lift in three sections, opened on 12 December 1965 to develop the area for glacier skiing. The carriages each had a maximum capacity of 180 passengers. Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. The young woman - who was not named - said: "There was no hope for those who are left behind in the tunnel. 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. 1 Briton 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. Train Disaster at Kaprun - YouTube