Car crashes into tree

Tragedy in Lower Austria: Three dead in traffic accident

The cause of the accident has not yet been definitively determined, according to the police.

(Bild: APA/GEORG HOCHMUTH)

A dramatic traffic accident occurred on Friday evening in the district of Gänserndorf in Lower Austria. Three Hungarian harvest workers lost their lives when their car crashed head-on into a tree. Two other occupants were resuscitated and taken to hospital with serious injuries.

According to police reports, the fatalities are believed to be three Hungarian seasonal workers and two other people were injured in the accident. Three of the occupants were killed instantly, only two young men could be resuscitated. They survived with serious injuries and were taken to St. Pölten Hospital and a hospital in Vienna.

Head-on crash into a fruit tree
The young men, aged between 20 and 30, were probably on their way home on Friday evening when the car, which was carrying five people, left the road in the fog and darkness on the B49 and crashed head-on into a fruit tree for unknown reasons.

Investigators assume that the Eastern European workers were harvest workers deployed to support the ongoing beet harvest in eastern Lower Austria. Farmers in the region have long relied on workers from Eastern Europe to cope with the demanding field work. The vehicle involved in the accident had a Hungarian license plate.

Second accident in the region within days
There is also great sadness in the community for Wilhelm H. (43), a long-standing local councillor and honorary chairman of the music association. Two days ago, he also suffered a fatal accident in the region, in the small village of Groißenbrunn. "Our extremely popular fellow citizen fell victim to a tragic microsleep while driving," says Mayor Dr. Clemens Nagel in shock.