Officials on Trial for Austrian Ski Train Fire

One of the biggest criminal trials in Austrian history began yesterday when 16 officials appeared before a Salzburg court charged with causing the mountain train inferno which killed 155 people in the two-mile tunnel leading to Kaprun on the Kitzsteinhorn glacier in November 2000.

Prosecutors argued that it was the negligent behaviour of the ski resort workers, government officials and safety inspectors in the dock which led to the disaster.

The train was on one of its first early morning runs and packed with 161 holidaymakers on a crisp sunny Saturday when the fire began and trapped passengers in the tunnel, where a chimney effect quickly raised the flames to 1,000C.

Twelve escaped by breaking windows with ski poles and snow boards before running down towards the lower entrance. Those who instinctively tried to run up and away from the flames were engulfed by smoke and toxic fumes. A train operator and others in a control booth were among those who died within minutes.

Among the dead was the 19-year-old German world freestyle skiing champion, Sandra Schmitt. The youngest victim was a girl of five from Florida.

The police took tight security measures for the opening of the trial in case angry relatives tried to lash out at the defendants in the courtroom.

Judge Manfred Seiss told Austrian radio that he expected the trial to be an emotional affair, adding: "But I want, as far as possible, to keep emotion out of the courtroom."

Among those on trial are employees of the train operating company, Gletscherbahnen Kaprun AG, which has admitted that there was no contingency plan for a fire in the tunnel, and no fire extinguishers or hammers in place.

The automatic doors jammed shut as the fire took hold, trapping the skiers.

In the prosecution's opening statement Eva Danninger-Soriat said: "How is it possible that the funicular train had fewer safety measures than a bus?"

She spoke of a "mosaic of errors". The train's heater had been fitted illegally, and had set fire to hydraulic oil leaking from a brake cable.

The defendants also include suppliers of parts for the train, and transport ministry officials in charge of safety inspections of the train and tunnel. All of them deny the charges of "negligent causing of a blaze", and "negligent causing of a danger to the public", which carry a maximum jail sentence of five years, and a minimum of six months.

The defence team argued that their clients had taken the necessary precautions and that the fire could not have been foreseen.

"This type of catastrophe can only happen in a place where it is not to be expected," said Wolfgang Brandstetter, defending the technical director of Gletscherbahnen.

Three hundred relatives have brought private prosecution proceedings against the defendants and are seeking compensation payments of levels never before heard of in Austria.

About 50 were present at the opening of the trial, which is expected to continue well into the autumn. Outside the court, several expressed their relief that the trial was finally under way, but also their dissatisfaction with the potential sentences.

Ursula Geiger, 40, who lost her 14-year-old son, said the five-year maximum sentence was "completely disproportionate" and expressed her anger that no one had so far admitted any responsibility.

"When 155 people die and no one wants to admit responsibility, it is really painful."

Another mother, Frauke Schmidt, said: "It's unbelievable, the defendants even seem to want us to send them a letter of condolence."

The controversial US compensation lawyer Ed Fagan is among those due to give evidence in the trial, the files for which run to 25,000 pages.

Mr Fagan, who is known for forcing Swiss banks to compensate Holocaust victims, visited the site with US experts just days after the incident. He has said that he hopes to persuade victims' families to pursue their cases in the US courts.

The reputation of Austria's tourism industry, which is largely dependent on skiers, is also on trial. Yesterday the father of a 13-year-old boy who died in the fire condemned the tourism authorities' lack of investment in safety.

"I hope the trial ensures that people learn from this calamity," Harald Reiser, from Berchtesgaden in southern Germany, said.

Since the catastrophe, Kaprun has enjoyed a huge financial injection in an effort to keep its tourism industry alive, and tourist chiefs have organised an array of sporting extravaganzas.

Locals invested millions of euros to replace the 70s funicular with the new hi-tech Gletscherjet: a cable car capable of transporting 3,600 people to the glacier every hour, which opened to wide acclaim in December.