KAPRUN, Austria German, Japanese and American tourists were among at least 150 people killed on Saturday when an Austrian funicular train packed with skiers was destroyed in an alpine tunnel blaze.
Twelve skiers, three more than earlier thought, escaped the inferno by smashing their way out of the train and climbing downhill to safety from the noxious fumes generated by the fire deep inside the 3,200-meter Kitzsteinhorn Mountain near Kaprun.
Franz Schausberger, governor of Salzburg Province, told a news conference on Sunday that 165 people had been on board the train when it caught fire entering a 3.2-km (two mile) tunnel on the way up to the Kitzsteinhorn glacier ski slopes.
"Only those who managed to save themselves survived. There was no chance yesterday of helping anyone," he said.
In addition, three people died from smoke inhalation at the top of the tunnel.
It was unclear whether there was anyone except the driver on board a second train which was descending through the tunnel at the same time. But as the accident happened at around 9 a.m., that train, which also became stranded, was likely to have been virtually empty. The driver is presumed dead.
The identities of 85 victims have been ascertained with 90 percent certainty. They include 30 Austrians, 27 Germans, 10 Japanese and three U.S. Army personnel. The rest were mainly tourists from Austria.
"The names of these people will not be published until we have absolute certainty over their identities and their relatives have been informed," Schausberger said.
The Austrian government declared a state of national mourning after what was believed to be the worst disaster ever in a country which has seen more than its fair share of fatal avalanches and mountain tragedies.
Black flags hung from the Vienna state opera and theaters in the capital and Austrian flags on government buildings flew at half-mast.
Winter sports fans had been drawn to the popular Kaprun area to take advantage of beautiful autumn weather and what were described as perfect conditions for skiing.
Victims would have been hampered in their desperate efforts to flee the blaze by their heavy ski boots and equipment.
The fire was believed to have started at the lower end of the single-carriage train at around 9 a.m. soon after it began its ascent up the 45-degree incline.
Those who escaped were at the bottom end of the vehicle, which came to a halt some 600 meters inside the tunnel. They managed to break windows and free themselves.
But the remaining passengers are likely to have been quickly engulfed by fire or overcome by deadly smoke as the blaze raced upwards.
Experts were puzzled by the cause of the fire as the train, which is drawn up the mountain by a cable powered by engines at the top, did not have an engine or on-board power source.
It was also furnished with materials that were supposed to be fireproof. Media speculation that the blaze may have been caused by an electrical fault or a cigarette could not be confirmed.
The Kitzsteinhorn railway, opened in 1974, was initially described as the world's first underground mountain railway because almost all of it went through the mountain.
(Reuter)