- Title: 601 AT Kaprun memorial
- Date: 11th November 2020
- Description:Memorial held in Kaprun marking 20 years since tragedy inside a tunnel of funicular railway Every year on November 11th at 9 a.m., the municipality of Kaprun in Upper Austria and the glacier railways commemorate the 155 victims of the fire - at the memorial site that opened in 2004 at the valley station of the Kaprun glacier railroad at the foot of the Kitzsteinhorn mountain. This year this celebration is kept particularly small due and quiet to the coronavirus pandemic - a service without politicians' speeches, and media representatives are also not welcome. Along the Austrian measures, 6 adult persons are allowed into the memorial at the same time. At the request of the relatives of the dead, however, a memorial book was published in which everyone can write down their thoughts or memories. 150 of the 162 passengers were killed in the fire in the uphill cable car set of the Kaprun railways on 11th November 2000. Only twelve were able to save themselves. In addition, two people died in the oncoming train and three in the mountain station of the glacier lift. The dead came from eight countries - besides Austrians and Germans, Americans, Czechs and tourists from Japan were among the dead. The cause of the fatal fire was hydraulic oil that dripped from a pipe onto a fan heater installed in the driver's cab of the funicular on the valley side. Due to a chimney effect in the narrow tunnel, the fire from the driver's cab of the funicular quickly spread to the entire set and the people in it. For safety reasons, the doors were also closed - some passengers then smashed the windows in order to be able to escape. But only those who fled down in panic towards the closer tunnel exit had a chance of survival. In the trial after the fatal accident, 16 defendants had to answer for negligent causing a fire and negligent public endangerment - including employees of the Kaprun glacier railways and the companies that had installed the fan heater and hydraulic lines. There were no convictions in the trial - all accused were acquitted in all instances. The reason: All regulations valid at the time had been complied with, the fan heater had a design flaw. This verdict triggered fierce criticism, especially among relatives of the dead - for many it was incomprehensible that no one should be responsible for the death of 155 people. Nevertheless, the municipality of Kaprun has always taken care of the connection to the relatives of the dead. The place stands by its responsibility. After a difficult time Kaprun has managed to return to normal, the city has invested a lot in order to regain the trust of tourists. Shotlist - VS religious service for the relatives of the victims - WS memorial site exterior - VS memorial site interior - WS memorial service held this morning - Surrounding mountain - Tilt down to memorial service - WS of mountain where the funicular railway had been - WS of memorial site - Inside the memorial site - One white rose, and one candle lit for every victim of the disaster from Kaprun - C/U white rose - WS inside memorial site
- Collection: ORF
- Genre:News
- Transmission Date:11/11/2020
- Decade: 2020s