SKIERS’ clothing and equipment may have provided the fuel for the inferno
that devastated an Austrian ski train last weekend. At least 159 people died
when the train caught fire in a tunnel on its way to the ski and snowboarding
slopes high above the Austrian village of Kaprun.
The cause of the fire is still unknown, but it spread rapidly because of the
“chimney effect”. The fire sucked in air from the bottom of the tunnel, creating
a fierce draught that fanned the flames. The poisonous fumes that killed so many
of the victims emerged from the top end…
