Two people were killed in a serious accident at a railway crossing in Allentsteig. A toddler survived the collision.
The toddler was flown to a hospital (symbolic image). APA / Georg Hochmuth
The collision of a car with a freight train at a level crossing in Allentsteig (Zwettl district) in the Waldviertel claimed two lives on Saturday afternoon. One toddler survived. The three-year-old girl was flown to a hospital by “Christophorus 2”. According to police and fire departments, the child’s parents were killed. The couple from the Zwettl district, 39 and 35 years old, died at the scene of the accident.
The serious collision occurred around 4 p.m. According to an ÖBB spokesman, the scene was a crossing on the Franz Josef Railway that was secured with light signals. According to the police, the family’s car, which was driven by the 35-year-old woman, wanted to cross the tracks on the L75. The car had to be separated from the train using cable winches, reported the FF Allentsteig. “Out of consideration for the relatives, no pictures of the accident vehicle will be published,” the helpers wrote on their website. The train driver remained uninjured. According to police, he was cared for by a crisis intervention team.
The accident-related route interruption between Göpfritz an der Wild and Allentsteig was lifted shortly after 7 p.m. and therefore after around three hours, the ÖBB announced. A replacement rail service (Göpfritz – Gmünd) was set up.
The FF Allentsteig, Göpfritz, Schwarzenau and Thaua were deployed with more than 50 forces. The Red Cross had sent helpers from Allentsteig and Waidhofen ad Thaya as well as the district operations manager. There was also the “Christophorus” helicopter that transported the girl away. The police were there with three patrols. Investigations into the cause of the accident were ongoing.
At the end of September 2015, a semi-trailer trailer loaded with an 18-ton timber harvester got stuck on the same crossing due to insufficient ground clearance. A train crashed into the obstacle. The train driver was killed. At the end of December 2019, a car came to a standstill with the front of the vehicle on the track and was hit by a train after the driver tried to cross the tracks despite the red light on the signal system. This accident resulted in property damage. (APA)
