Inferno on New Year's Eve

Fire victim: “No one thought I would survive!”

Francesca's husband never left her side. He holds his protective hand over her. This burn scar is one of many.

(Bild: zVg)

22-year-old Francesca S. from Graz was in the Stern bar on New Year's Eve when the fire inferno broke out and a young woman from Lower Austria died. 75 percent of her skin was burnt off. Almost a year has passed since then - a "Krone" interview about 40 operations, amputated fingers, hellish pain and her greatest wish.

There are people who are broken by their suffering, and there are others who rise above it. 22-year-old Francesca is one of the latter. She was at the Stern restaurant in Graz on New Year's Eve, where a fire tragedy occurred in which a young woman even died.