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Vienna’s Wooden Zwergerlbahn Derails at Prater, Injuring Five

The cause remains under police review despite operator claims of human error.

Overview

  • The first wagon of the Wiener Zwergerlbahn left the track near the end of a run, injuring five adults in total.
  • Vienna’s professional rescue service treated three people at the scene and took two 63-year-old women to hospital.
  • The operators said the train was too fast due to the driver’s misjudgment and that the emergency brake was not used.
  • The driver was riding in the second wagon as required by the ride’s procedures, according to the operators.
  • Police in Vienna’s Leopoldstadt district said they have not confirmed a cause, as scrutiny of the wooden, family-run ride built in 1948–1950 follows a separate 2024 Prater derailment of the Liliputbahn that caused no injuries.