Shock in Ernstbrunn: Fire brigade rescues articulated vehicle from ditch!

Shock in Ernstbrunn: Fire brigade rescues articulated vehicle from ditch!

On November 3, 2025, a remarkable operation by the volunteer fire brigades took place in Ernstbrunn, Lower Austria, between Steinbach and the B6. In the morning, the fire brigade colleagues from Ernstbrunn and Steinbach were alerted to rescue a semi-trailer that had slipped into a ditch. The vehicle was recovered using cable winches and required close cooperation between both fire departments. This type of operation highlights how important the local fire brigade presence is in emergencies and shows their ability to respond quickly.

In an earlier incident, on October 5, 2024, there was a serious traffic accident on federal highway 6 in the Steinbach – Thomasl intersection area. In a head-on collision between two cars, both vehicles were thrown off the road, one landed in an adjacent field and the other, with two occupants, in the stream. The police were already on site when the Ernstbrunn volunteer fire department arrived to rescue people. Luckily no one was trapped. In the future, it will be emphasized how important fire department training is to quickly rescue people and to ensure that road safety is monitored.

Operation details and rescue measures

The volunteer fire department not only took care of the injured, but also ensured fire protection. The arrival of rescue workers and the Christophorus 9 emergency medical helicopter made it possible to provide immediate medical care to the injured. The two occupants of the vehicle that ended up in the stream were freed using a spineboard and transported to the Mistelbach State Hospital. The injuries of the three people involved in the accident were of an unspecified degree.

After a thorough accident investigation by the police, the fire department took care of the recovery of the vehicles. These were transported away with a swap loader and stored at the Ernstbrunn construction yard. The operation lasted around two and a half hours in total.

Safety statistics and accident research

Accidents like the ones described are recorded in comprehensive statistics in Austria. Daily data on road traffic accidents with personal injuries are transmitted electronically by police authorities and passed on to Statistics Austria by the Federal Ministry of the Interior. This data is crucial for the continuous monitoring of accident events and initiates important steps in accident research and prevention. The results of these surveys are published quarterly and annually and provide important insights into improving road safety.

Linked information can be found under the following links: NÖN reports that..., Fireworld explains that … and Statistik Austria provides information on ….