Fire in the Pfänder tunnel: 200 people brought to safety!

Fire in the Pfänder tunnel: 200 people brought to safety!

In the Pfänder tunnel in Vorarlberg, a spectacular fire broke out on January 12, 2025 at 9:50 a.m. A 62-year-old German driver who was traveling with his wife noticed a sudden fire development in the engine compartment of his vehicle as they drove towards Germany. He immediately reacted, stopped and led his wife into safety in a cross rolls of the tunnel. Thanks to his fast reaction, the couple remained unharmed, while the car burned out completely and caused a thick smoke development, as fireworld.at reported.

mass evacuation in the tunnel

Because of the fire, around 150 to 200 people had to be evacuated from the tunnel. These were cared for on the Weidach node. The fire brigade was quickly deployed-a total of 55 emergency services and nine vehicles from the fire brigades Bregenz-Lieden and Lochau were on site. The Red Cross as well as police strips and vehicles of the Autobahnmeisterei also took part with a further 37 forces, as all-in.de . During the extinguishing work, the tunnel infrastructure caused considerable damage to property, including damage to the road surface and on the tunnel ceiling.

The east tube of the Pfänder tunnel is still closed, while the damage is checked by a structural engineer. A transition area for oncoming traffic was set up in the west tube, so that the vehicles can pass in both directions in a single lane. It remains unclear how long the blocking will last, but the use of the rescue workers has so far been classified as successful.