Rootstock hit the ground

Huge rootstock smashed house wall

The smashed wall with the rootstock.

(Bild: FF Frankenmarkt)

At 6 a.m., a rootstock weighing hundreds of kilograms came loose from a slope and smashed through the wall of the bedroom of a residential building in Frankenmarkt (Upper Austria). The residents were surprised in their sleep. Although the bed was pushed away from the wall by the force, fortunately there were only minor injuries.

Barbara and Friedrich Irran (66) will probably be celebrating a second birthday on December 18. Because as the couple slept in their bed in Frankenmarkt early on Wednesday morning, a 4.2-tonne rootstock suddenly crashed through the bedroom wall.

"My mom called me around 5.30 a.m. all upset and said that the wall had collapsed and it was smoking," says Christof Hüttner, son of the pensioners.

There were bricks everywhere
The rootstock had come loose from a slope directly behind the Irrans' house, thundered down across a meadow and crashed into the façade. "They were very lucky because they were both on the right. The headboard of the bed was torn off by the impact, the bedside table was pushed forward and the bed was displaced by at least a meter," says Hüttner. A piece of wall weighing at least 20 kilos was thrown out. It came to rest on the bed and bricks were scattered all over the room.

The hole from the outside

(Bild: FF Frankenmarkt)

The rootstock being removed.

(Bild: FF Vöcklabruck )

"Will have to sleep in the living room"
In the meantime, the hole in the wall has been sealed with formwork panels and is still being insulated against the cold. "They'll probably have to sleep in the living room for the next month or two," says the son. The rootstock belonged to a tree that had been blown over by a storm in the fall. Geologists will have to find out why it came loose. To prevent further accidents, a 130-ton crane lifted away two more roots on Wednesday.