16 injured in an accident with a coach on the A1 in Salzburg
The Red Cross was alerted a few minutes after 3 a.m., district rescue commander Hermann Gerstgraser told APA. The bus had an accident on the western autobahn between the Wallersee (community of Eugendorf) and Salzburg-Nord junctions. In this section there is currently a construction site with oncoming traffic, whereby the two lanes towards Vienna are separated from the lane towards Salzburg by a concrete guardrail.
According to his own statements, shortly before the construction site, the 56-year-old Kosovar prepared for an overtaking maneuver near Eugendorf. He overtook a truck in the left lane at around 80 km/h that was traveling in the right lane. During the overtaking manoeuvre, he drove into the local construction site, where the lane splits into two directions. Since the truck was in the right lane, it was no longer possible for him to change to the right lane in the lane intended for buses and trucks, the bus driver said. The overtaking lane is directed to the oncoming lane.
According to the police, the coach touched the concrete central barrier, was catapulted into the air and several meters later landed on the road again. The vehicle broke through the concrete barrier and came to a standstill at the guardrail on the oncoming lane.
All occupants of the bus were able to leave the coach independently. In the morning hours, some of the emergency services still said that there were a total of 19 injuries, three of them seriously and 16 slightly injured. Around noon, the Salzburg State Police Headquarters then informed that 16 people were injured, five seriously and eleven slightly. Ten of the 26 passengers were unharmed. According to police, the bus driver and his passenger were unharmed. Only one child, who also survived the crash unharmed, embraced himself on the bus.
The west autobahn (A1) was blocked in both directions. At 5.45 a.m. the lane in the direction of Germany was reopened. In the direction of travel to Vienna, the clean-up work will continue until 11:00 a.m. The scene of the accident was cleared by noon. The traffic jam, which at times stretched back to the city of Salzburg, cleared up.
The contingent of helpers was large: the Hallwang and Eugendorf fire brigades came with around 60 volunteers in eight vehicles, the Red Cross arrived with around 50 helpers in 14 vehicles. The uninjured people were cared for by the Red Cross crisis team.
In the morning, the Red Cross organized a replacement bus for the accident victims who could be transported, which was supposed to bring them to their destination. According to Red Cross spokeswoman Roberta Thanner, Stuttgart, Dortmund, Essen, Cologne, Mannheim and Hanover should be approached.