One dead, 30 hurt in 60 vehicle pile-up on Austrian motorway

0 Comments | AFP, March, 2008

VIENNA (AFP) — One person was killed and 30 injured, five seriously, when a snowstorm provoked a massive pile-up involving some 60 vehicles on a motorway in Austria, police said Tuesday.

The mid-morning accident, on the Seelwachen-St Georgen stretch of the Vienna-Salzburg autobahn, left many motorists trapped inside their cars, the Austrian motoring club said.

Police said low visibility due to the snowstorm was to blame for the crash.

The Red Cross in Salzburg, working alongside the emergency services, said a bus was among the vehicles involved.

Several fatal crashes have occurred along the Seelwachen-St Georgen section of the highway, mainly on account of fog, with 10 people losing their lives since 2002.

© 2008 AFP