Accident in Gänserndorf

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 (aged 29, 30 and 39), while 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.

The Leopoldsdorf im Marchfeld volunteer fire department reported that hydraulic rescue equipment had to be used to free the three men. 

Here you can see the fire department's post about the accident.

Head-on crash into fruit tree
The young men 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 L9 towards Breitstetten for an unknown reason and crashed head-on into a fruit tree.

According to the fire department, the car was loaded with a crane vehicle and secured. The rescue team received psychological support after the tragic traffic accident.

Investigators assume that the Eastern European workers are 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 Clemens Nagel, shocked.