Saturday November 11 8:58 AM ET 172 Skiers Feared Killed in Austria Train Fire

VIENNA (Reuters) - As many as 172 skiers were feared killed in a blazing train in a tunnel in the Austrian Alps on Saturday, state ORF television quoted the governor of Salzburg as saying.

Eight passengers had escaped from the funicular train, which was trapped deep inside the 3,200-meter Kitzsteinhorn mountain near Kaprun, southwest of the city of Salzburg, it added.

``(Governor Franz Schausberger) left us in no doubt that very, very many people died -- that apart from the eight people who managed to escape, all are believed to have suffocated,'' an ORF reporter said, her voice breaking with emotion.

``He is speaking of a catastrophe of unprecedented proportions. He ordered mourning in the province. You can imagine what the atmosphere is like here at the moment.''

Asked for the latest news on the number of passengers, she replied: ``The assumption is that the train was full. That means there were up to 180 people in it. Apart from the eight who escaped, all are believed to be dead.''

Red Cross officials in Salzburg had earlier said 10 people with minor injuries had been rescued.

The mayor of Kaprun, Norbert Karlsboeck, said the fire had started at around 9 a.m. when the train, which was heading up the mountain, had traveled about 600 yards into the tunnel.

``The train is still burning,'' he told ORF radio just before 1200 GMT, adding that smoke was billowing out of the end of the tunnel on the mountain top.

He said the train had a capacity of 180, adding: ``It was probably full because it was a beautiful day for skiing.''

Karlsboeck said there was no information about the cause of the blaze. One of the train's cables had snapped, but it was not the main cable used to haul the vehicle up the mountain and the damage may have occurred during the blaze.

Thirteen helicopters were at the scene and police asked motorists to avoid roads in the area to keep them clear for rescue vehicles.

Last year, around 40 people died in an inferno in the Mont Blanc road tunnel between France and Italy that started when a truck caught fire and in Austria, 12 people were killed in a fire in the Tauern road tunnel under the Alps.

In June, at least 64 people were injured when two trains collided near Germany's highest mountain, the Zugspitze.

Saturday November 11 8:58 AM ET 172 Skiers Feared Killed in Austria Train Fire

VIENNA (Reuters) - As many as 172 skiers were feared killed in a blazing train in a tunnel in the Austrian Alps on Saturday, state ORF television quoted the governor of Salzburg as saying.

Eight passengers had escaped from the funicular train, which was trapped deep inside the 3,200-meter Kitzsteinhorn mountain near Kaprun, southwest of the city of Salzburg, it added.

``(Governor Franz Schausberger) left us in no doubt that very, very many people died -- that apart from the eight people who managed to escape, all are believed to have suffocated,'' an ORF reporter said, her voice breaking with emotion.

``He is speaking of a catastrophe of unprecedented proportions. He ordered mourning in the province. You can imagine what the atmosphere is like here at the moment.''

Asked for the latest news on the number of passengers, she replied: ``The assumption is that the train was full. That means there were up to 180 people in it. Apart from the eight who escaped, all are believed to be dead.''

Red Cross officials in Salzburg had earlier said 10 people with minor injuries had been rescued.

The mayor of Kaprun, Norbert Karlsboeck, said the fire had started at around 9 a.m. when the train, which was heading up the mountain, had traveled about 600 yards into the tunnel.

``The train is still burning,'' he told ORF radio just before 1200 GMT, adding that smoke was billowing out of the end of the tunnel on the mountain top.

He said the train had a capacity of 180, adding: ``It was probably full because it was a beautiful day for skiing.''

Karlsboeck said there was no information about the cause of the blaze. One of the train's cables had snapped, but it was not the main cable used to haul the vehicle up the mountain and the damage may have occurred during the blaze.

Thirteen helicopters were at the scene and police asked motorists to avoid roads in the area to keep them clear for rescue vehicles.

Last year, around 40 people died in an inferno in the Mont Blanc road tunnel between France and Italy that started when a truck caught fire and in Austria, 12 people were killed in a fire in the Tauern road tunnel under the Alps.

In June, at least 64 people were injured when two trains collided near Germany's highest mountain, the Zugspitze.

-- Carl Jenkins (somewherepress@aol.com), November 11, 2000