Saturday Morning News

Train Carrying Skiers Catches Fire in Austria

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

MILES O'BRIEN, ANCHOR: This just in to CNN. A train carrying skiers in Austria to a resort through an Alpine tunnel apparently has caught fire. More than 100 skiers were aboard, and a massive rescue operation is under way right now in that location near the area of Salzburg.

We turn now to Gerhard Rettenegger, who is with a news affiliate in Salzburg for more on the situation. Gerhard, give us the latest, please.

GERHARD RETTENEGGER, JOURNALIST: Well, the death of three persons is confirmed at the moment, 15 people are injured and are being medicated in a nearby hospital. But up to 160 persons are still missing. Emergency troops are expecting the worst-case scenario.

Just a few minutes ago, in a press conference reporters were told, quote, "It would be a miracle if someone had survived the accident," unquote. So we could have to expect more than 160 dead persons. But I tell you once again, this number is not yet confirmed.

The accident happened within a tunnel of about four kilometers length. The cable car transport skiers to the glacier on top of the Kittsteinraum (ph), a famous Austrian ski resort. There is no information at the moment about how the accident occurred. We only know for sure that a fire broke out in the carriage and that one of the cables pulling the carriage broke.

Two hundred rescue troops are desperately trying to work their way through the tunnel to the cabin where the skiers are still trapped. This weekend hundreds of people, especially young people, have come to the glacier ski resort of Kebrunn (ph) because it is winter season's opening.

O'BRIEN: Gerhard, give us some idea. Obviously this is an alpine location, this is a train carrying people to the summit to do some skiing. What about access to perform any sort of rescue operation? Is it difficult to get to this tunnel?

RETTENEGGER: As far as we know, it is difficult for the emergency troops to come to the carriage, to the burning carriage. You have to imagine that the accident might have happened about 600 meters from the beginning of the tunnel.

We don't know a lot about alarm plans or about emergency exits, because within the last 25 years nothing has happened with that cabin. And so we can't really tell how the ways were to the cabin, how fast and how quickly the emergency crews could make their way to the carriage,

O'BRIEN: Gerhard, you say the fire actually occurred as the train was just about to enter the tunnel, or was it in the tunnel?

RETTENEGGER: It was within the tunnel.

O'BRIEN: Inside the tunnel.

RETTENEGGER: Into the tunnel and 600 meters within the tunnel the fire might have broke out. This is a suggestion. Many people told us so, so it is not yet apparently officially confirmed.

O'BRIEN: All right, and just what we do know, though is at least a hundred skiers were on board that train. Is that correct?

RETTENEGGER: Yes, we know because we know the capacity of one train is 180 persons. This is what we know, and all officials tell us that today, because of the winter season opening, the ski area is full of skiers and that it was one of the first trains on this morning, because the cable car opens at 9:00 in the morning, and the accident happened about 9:00 -- a quarter past nine.

O'BRIEN: All right, Gerhard Rettenegger, who is with -- a journalist in Salzburg giving us the latest on a situation that is just unfolding.

And just to recap for you, a train carrying a load of skiers up to a resort in Austria this morning caught fire inside an Alpine tunnel. More than a hundred skiers were aboard. At least five people have escaped from that train. And we are just getting our first pictures in of the rescue operation -- you can see it under way there. And there would be the entrance to that tunnel.

As Gerhard Rettenegger just reported to us, obviously the Alpine location complicating efforts to perform any rescue operations. But he also reported that in a briefing not too long ago, one of the officials there said it would be a miracle if anybody were to have escaped from that fire alive beyond the people who were rescued.

As you can see, obviously, a very steep precipice leading into that tunnel. The train, according to some of the wire service accounts we have here, is carried up through that tunnel on a cable, carrying skiers to the summit at the beginning of this ski season.

We'll be, of course, watching this very closely, and we'll have details for you as they become available.

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