Mishaps Occur - Marking the 25th anniversary of the fire incident in the Tauern Tunnel.
Reminiscing about the tragic event in the Tauerntunnel that occurred 25 years ago, Austria's highway chief, Hartwig Hufnagl, emphasized the importance of prioritizing safety. Hufnagl, who is the managing director of the state-owned highway operator Asfinag, spoke at a commemorative event in Flachau on Wednesday.
On May 29, 1999, an unthinkable tragedy unfolded when the driver of a truck appears to have dozed off and collided with a stopped truck in front of a tunnel construction site. The impact caused several vehicles to be crushed, and a truck carrying 24,000 spray paint cans to explode. The resulting fireball reached a scorching temperature of 1,200 degrees, leaving its mark on the concrete pipes. The aftermath claimed twelve lives, one of which was a family of five from Reutlingen, Baden-Württemberg.
The memorial service was held in a chapel close to the north entrance of the tunnel, and among the attendees were some of the 67 survivors, as confirmed by the state of Salzburg. Salzburg's state governor, Wilfried Haslauer, noted the profound impact of the disaster on many aspects of disaster relief and traffic safety. Since then, Asfinag has poured close to six billion euros into the construction of secondary tunnels, escape routes, lighting, and fire warning systems. The tragedy also fueled a heightened interest in safety following the Mont-Blanc Tunnel fire in March 1999, which claimed 39 lives.
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