BMW burns out

Cars hurled into stream in accident: one dead

The two cars were lying in the bed of a stream.

(Bild: Daniel Scharinger)

At 12.20 p.m. on Friday, five fire departments raced to the scene of an accident in Neukirchen an der Enknach (Upper Austria): Two cars had collided on a bend and been flung into an adjacent stream. One of the drivers (40) died at the scene of the accident, the other car burned out.

In a long right-hand bend between Neukirchen an der Enknach and Handenberg, two cars collided on Friday and were flung into a stream bed.

What followed was a dramatic rescue operation: "One person was able to free themselves from the car, a second person was trapped. They were freed by the rescue services, while the other car started to burn," reports Florian Schmitzberger, Deputy Commander of the Neukirchen fire brigade.

Lost control of the BMW
When the five fire departments arrived at around 12.30 p.m., the BMW with German license plates was already smoking before it caught fire shortly afterwards. The BMW driver, a 24-year-old from Braunau, was injured and taken to hospital. According to his own statements, he lost control of his vehicle on the bend and ended up in the oncoming lane.

The driver in the second car did not survive the fatal collision. The 40-year-old man from Hallein in Salzburg died at the scene of the accident.

Oil barriers in the stream bed
In addition to the five fire departments, the police and the ambulance service, including an emergency helicopter, were also deployed. The challenges of extinguishing the BMW were secondary to the terrible accident, as the wrecked cars were lying in the bed of a stream. "We used oil booms to contain the liquids," says Schmitzberger. If necessary, the Florianis can seek psychological help after the stressful operation.