In Wagrain (Pongau) 144 people had to be freed from the gondolas in a large relief operation, in Uttendorf (Pinzgau) there were 13 passengers. By the evening, the fire brigades had been called to almost 100 operations in 27 locations, the state warning center announced in the evening.
In Wagrain, a tree had fallen into the Grafenbergbahn route, causing the cable car to stop in an emergency. Because the train could no longer be started, the occupants of the gondolas had to be rescued by employees of the mountain railway, mountain rescue and the fire brigade. In order to calm the trapped guests, they were continuously informed about the current status via the loudspeaker system.
rescue teams and helicopters
The rescue began around 5:30 p.m., and about half an hour later a helicopter arrived to provide support. The trapped people were gradually freed from the gondolas and taken to the valley station, where they were registered. Shortly after 8:00 p.m., the twelve rescue teams had rescued all 144 passengers and taken them to the valley, the fire brigade informed. The cable car companies regularly practice rescuing passengers from the gondolas.
Trees had also fallen on the cable car of the Weißsee Glacier Railway in Uttendorf. Here 13 people were stuck in a total of four gondolas. For the helpers, however, the access was already difficult: “The road was closed due to a tear in a high-voltage line. There were also many fallen trees on the way up to the Enzingerboden car park,” said local manager Franz Waltl from the Enzingerboden mountain rescue service. “Helicopters brought our people to the scene quickly, and we were able to quickly start salvaging the 13 trapped people.” Fortunately nobody was injured.
Apart from Flachgau and the city of Salzburg, the thunderstorm caused damage in practically all districts. At around 9:00 p.m., the state warning center counted a total of 96 operations involving 607 firefighters from 27 different fire departments.
Source: Nachrichten