AUSTRIA: MOUNTAIN DISASTER – 170 FEARED DEAD

Up to 170 people are feared dead in a fire which broke out in a tunnel under the Kitzsteinhorn mountain in the Austrian Alps. The tunnel is over three kilometres long and the train, full of passengers, caught fire inside. The train is stuck 600 metres inside the tunnel. There are over 100 firemen, supported by 13 helicopters, working to try to enter the tunnel but at the moment they are being driven back by thick smoke. A spokesman from the “Channel Tunnel” between the UK and France has said that a fire in a tunnel of this length is “extremely difficult to tackle”. Sky News broadcast an interview with a man who was in this tunnel previously and he described it as “extremely claustrophobic because the tunnel in which the train goes is very narrow – the train almost touches the sides” So far there are only eight survivors. All the passengers were enjoying a day out, skiing. No causes have as yet been stated but one eye-witness stated that the tunnel seemed old and said that there was a lot of wood used in the structure, which would be a fire hazard if proven to be true Tim Whitehouse, Pravda