Coach overturned on A1 near Thalgau – 3 passengers seriously injured

Shortly after midnight, the Thalgau, Unterdorf and Hof fire departments in Salzburg, as well as the Mondsee and Guggenberg fire departments in Upper Austria, were alerted.

A coach from Slovakia carrying ten people drove into the cordoned-off construction site area at the Thalgau motorway entrance on its return from Salzburg in the direction of Vienna. While driving in the cordoned off area, the bus repeatedly struck the concrete guard rails on both sides. After the motorway bridge, the driver hit the slope of the concrete guardrail and the bus fell over on its side.

When the emergency services arrived, there were still seven people in the coach, some of whom were trapped. Firefighters and paramedics rescued the occupants from the vehicle.

“We gained access to the inside of the bus using a spreader and a cutting device. We still had to free four people from the bus using technical equipment,” says Flachgau district fire brigade commander Klaus Lugstein. About 15 minutes after the alarm was raised, the last person on the bus was handed over to the Red Cross, said Lugstein about the rapid rescue.

The ten injured people were then taken to the surrounding hospitals. Three people were seriously injured in the accident.

The A1 was closed for six hours during the rescue work. Around 100 emergency services from the fire department, police and Red Cross were deployed.

Cause of accident unclear

The cause of the accident has not yet been clarified. An alcohol test on the driver was negative. The 57-year-old Slovakian said he could not say why he collided with the concrete partition. He was traveling at a speed of around 100 km/h. There is a speed limit of 60 km/h in the construction area.

The coach was seized by order of the public prosecutor’s office and an expert was called in. The analysis of the tachograph did not reveal any violations. The investigation is ongoing.