Eyewitness describes dramatic details after gondola drama in Austria

Four people are seriously injured when a gondola crashes. Eyewitnesses describe their impressions. They were shocked.

Vienna – In the middle of the ski season, a gondola in Tyrol falls ten meters into the depths. Four vacationers from a family from Denmark were seriously injured in the accident on Tuesday (January 9th). A German couple aged 58 and 62 who were sitting in the gondola in front of the accident cabin were also affected and had to receive medical treatment. Now eyewitnesses reported the scenes of the crash and after.

“They screamed for help”: 23-year-old describes moments after the gondola falls into the depths

A 23-year-old Dutchman sat directly in the gondola behind the crashed cabin of the Acherkogelbahn in Oetz, Austria. “People were screaming and waving for help,” he told the Swiss newspaper 20 minutes to put his impressions into words. His cabin passed the crash site and arrived safely – but with strong fluctuations – at the station above. They were shocked and hoped that their gondola wouldn't crash too, he explained. He then alerted the staff upstairs.

“Only when I told them that a gondola had crashed did they immediately shut down the cable car,” he told the newspaper. According to his descriptions, skiers tried to get to the scene of the accident. This was difficult to achieve, said the Dutchman.

Three young people from Germany who got on before the gondola was parked explained: “Suddenly it started shaking like crazy. At first we didn't think anything of it.” It wasn't until they got to the top that they found out what had happened. But they didn't want to let the misfortune discourage them. Despite the shock, they went straight into “another gondola”. “We wanted to conquer our fear directly,” they explained 20 minutes.