Man seriously injured

At a petrol station: driver of motorhome on fire

The motorhome fire with a seriously injured man triggered an operation in Strass im Zillertal.(Bild: ZOOM Tirol)

A terrible accident on Wednesday in the early evening in Strass in the Tyrolean Zillertal. The driver of a motorhome came into contact with a large quantity of petrol at a filling station. Suddenly the fuel ignited and the man (57) and his vehicle caught fire. 

According to initial reports, the 57-year-old German was on his way from the Zillertal at around 5 pm. However, the fuel pump of his motorhome did not work. According to the police, the driver bypassed the function manually. He wanted to change the temporary device at a petrol station in Strass.

Driver and motorhome caught fire
That's when it happened: while handling the vehicle, the driver poured a large amount of petrol over himself. Fuel also spilled over the camper van. "Handling the device caused the petrol to ignite and both the driver and the camper van's load compartment caught fire," the police explained. 

The accident happened while handling this camper van.(Bild: zoom.tirol, Krone KREATIV)

The Strass fire department was on site with 14 firefighters.(Bild: zoom.tirol)

The firefighters carried out extinguishing work.(Bild: zoom.tirol)

Witness reacted with presence of mind
A 42-year-old man who was at the petrol station saw the burning man and the burning vehicle and reacted with lightning speed. The witness fetched the petrol station fire extinguisher and was able to contain the flames. Thanks to his quick action, the 42-year-old also prevented petrol cans near the pump from catching fire. 

Despite the rapid assistance, the German suffered severe burns. After first aid, the seriously injured man was taken to Innsbruck Hospital. The motorhome sustained considerable damage.