Bomb threats in Austria: individual offenders or series?

Bomb threats in Austria: individual offenders or series?

A troubling wave of bomb threats against train stations in Austria runs through several federal states and ensures considerable security measures. The youngest scene was the Eisenstadt main station, where a threatening letter was received on Friday at 1 p.m., which immediately resulted in the evacuation of the station. Special forces searched the terrain with explosive detection dogs, while travelers and employees were brought to safety. According to the Burgenland State Police Directorate, the entire mission was taken very seriously. At 3:45 p.m., the all -clear could finally be given because nothing suspicious was found and rail traffic was released around 4 p.m., reported 5min.at.

But the case in Eisenstadt is not isolated. As vorarlberg.orf.at have already been reported, there have already been similar threats to train stations in Graz, Linz, Salzburg, Klagenfurt, St. Pölten and Innsbruck. Overall, numerous train stations in almost all state capitals have been affected in the past few weeks, while Vienna has so far been left out. These threats not only put the train stations into turmoil, but also have massive effects on rail traffic with thousands of delays, which the Austrian Federal Railways (ÖBB) estimated with a possible damage volume in the millions.

Investigations and suspicions

The investigation depends on a possible individual offender who could be responsible for these threats. The police assume that all incidents follow a uniform pattern and look like the same author. The Ministry of the Interior is covered with further details and refers to ongoing investigations, whereby the seriousness of these threats is questioned in security circles. Historically, there have been no actual attacks with explosives on rail infrastructures since 1945, which also puts the situation in a special light.