Overview
- On 11 November 2000, a blaze in the Kaprun glacier funicular trapped passengers in a tunnel and ultimately killed 155 people, the worst post‑war accident in Austria.
- The fire was traced to an inappropriately installed domestic heater in the attendant’s cabin that ignited hydraulic oil, with a chimney effect sending toxic smoke upward to the mountain station.
- Emergency forces numbering about 500 firefighters with 22 helicopters and 100 ambulances reached the tunnel but halted the operation around 9:35 a.m. due to the risk from the burning train and cable failure.
- Many victims were burned beyond recognition and identified through DNA, while subsequent criminal proceedings in 2004 ended with acquittals and a later civil settlement of roughly €13.9 million.
- Twenty‑five years later, first responders describe caring for distraught relatives at the valley station, survivor Josef Ferstl recounts narrowly avoiding the fatal run, and Kaprun holds commemorations led by local officials.