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On November 11, 2000, despite the start of Carnival, no one in Austria was laughing. The dismay at the Kaprun Kitzsteinhorn glacier fire disaster was too great.
Triggered by a heater defect, a series of unfortunate circumstances occurred shortly after 9am, ending in the greatest catastrophe in post-war Austrian history. 155 people were killed in the fire, including 32 Wels magistrate employees and their families who wanted to enjoy a two-day outing in the snow. Only two of the group survived.
At that time, Peter Koits was mayor of the city of Wels for just one year. “I was in the office because it was the start of Mardi Gras,” he recalls the moment he received the call that there had been an accident. At this time, however, it was still unclear to what extent the Wels Group was affected. “We hoped and feared. Unfortunately, everything turned out differently,” said the former mayor in an interview with the OÖN.
Images of the completely burned glacier railway in the tunnel went around the world in November 2000.
Image: APA
“Hardest moment”
In the afternoon there was certainty. The next day he had to tell the families of the victims whom he had asked the city hall that there was no hope. “That was the most difficult moment for me,” aside from the 32 funerals. He gave a funeral prayer for each deceased in the Wels group. “Back then, I had the feeling that I had to support the family members. And: I knew the employees well, so I was able to respond better to each one.”
Looking back, Koits remembers the great sympathy of the population. “In front of the city hall, tears came to my eyes when people came here, lit candles and prayed. That touched me deeply.”
Of the 162 passengers on the unfortunate train, only twelve were able to save themselves because they were in the back of the train, they were able to break the window and run through the tunnel against the effect of the chimney. In addition to the 150 killed in the burning train, the train conductor and a tourist, as well as three people at the mountain station, died from smoke poisoning on the approaching train.
16 responsible persons at Gletscherbahnen Kaprun AG and the Ministry of Transport were prosecuted. But all were acquitted.
A survivor: Ernst Hemedinger (93) from Wels with his wife Paula (94)
Image: Fischer
“No one would have thought that was possible”
On the day of the accident, Ernst Hemedinger from Wels decided to take the cable car. That was his salvation. Because he chose the cable car and not the train through the tunnel to the Kitzsteinhorn, retired police officer Ernst Hemedinger from Wels was saved from the catastrophe. The 93-year-old remembers.
You not only survived Kaprun, but also a stroke. How are you?
Everything is fine. My right foot doesn’t do that anymore. But I have no pain. He is not a Gaudi.
Why did they forgive you at Kaprun?
I was a ski instructor at TVN and have skied countless times on the glacier. So I knew my way well. Since the sun was shining so beautifully that day, I got on the gondola and not the train that was going through the dark tunnel. A magistrate, Franz Aicher, has joined me. That saved our lives.
When did you hear about the accident?
We drove until most of the day. In the afternoon we saw the smoke from the hill station. No one knew what was happening at the time. At Wels’ they knew more than we did at the scene of the accident. No one would have thought that it was possible for the train to start burning.
How was the mood up there?
It was not a disaster. All went well. After driving, they put us in a cabin. There, a German at the next table said: “It’s crazy what happened there.” Then we went to our bus and waited for the rest of the group. The Gwand of the people is still there because they had to change first. When it became clear that no one would return, they took us to a great gym. There they hung us a plastic bracelet that I keep as a souvenir. We were registered with Bandl.
You lost a lot of friends that day. How do you deal with so many losses?
I’ve always been lucky. That was already the case during the war when I saw the barrel of a Russian soldier’s pistol. I survived. Kaprun ended 20 years ago. I dialed it. The night before, he was sitting comfortably with rehab practitioner Kurt, who was working on the disaster but was already retired. A Gaudí was that. We were still debating when and where we would go the next day. Like most of our tour group, he was among the dead.
Kaprun’s accident didn’t stop you from skiing.
Look: skiing has always been my great passion. I was an apprentice for 20 years. I have skied all over the world. Even in eastern Russia and Japan. As one of the first people outside the Iron Curtain, I came to the Czech Republic to ski. That was something special. When I fell in the same spot twice in a row at the age of 86 at the Höss, I decided that I was done.
Figures on the disaster
600 meters After entering the tunnel, the uphill train stops because the fire that broke out shortly after 9 am is spreading.
180 liters of hydraulic oil leaking it turns on due to a technical defect in a fan heater. That resulted in an expert opinion.
12 persons manage to escape the train through the window and escape through the valley. Those who break free and run in panic die from the smoke rising from the chimney effect.
150 passengers the faulty train will die. In return, the driver and a tourist, as well as three people at the mountain station, die from the increase in smoke gases.
63 rounds of negotiations It took the process against 16 officials of the glacial railways and the Ministry of Transport to complete. All are acquitted.
13.9 million euros in damages In 2008, 451 relatives of the victims were awarded.
155 glass slats, each representing a victim, dominate the landscape within the monument, which was built in Kaprun in 2004.
