Vranduk railway accident

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In the railway accident in Vranduk on Sunday, February 14, 1971, a passenger train caught fire in a tunnel near Vranduk , Bosnia-Herzegovina , (then: Yugoslavia ). 33 people were killed.

Starting position

Locomotive of the series as it caught fire in the tunnel

On the Šamac – Sarajevo railway, which was still single-track in this section, there was a 1,532 m long tunnel near Vranduk, the longest of the line. In this way, the railway went under a ridge that a loop of the Bosna flowed around it.

The 820 local train was traveling on the route from Žepče to Zenica with only about 200 passengers this Sunday . On weekdays he usually carried around 1,500 workers and students. It consisted of a diesel-electric locomotive of the series 662 from the depot Sarajevo , the nine passenger cars moved. The locomotive was fueled with two tons of diesel fuel. Spontaneous deflagrations in machines of this series occurred several times. For the same reason, a locomotive in Crvenka burned out a few years later.

the accident

In the tunnel, the locomotive caught fire after a deflagration . The train stopped 300 meters from the end of the tunnel. The locomotive crew tried to put out the fire, but did not succeed. At first, the travelers did not notice anything, as there were occasional stops on the single-track route if a return train had not yet entered the next station. It was only when the conductor ran through the train and asked to leave that the travelers realized what was happening. Evacuation was only possible against the direction of travel as the locomotive at the head of the train was on fire, a distance of well over a kilometer back through the tunnel. As a result, many travelers initially refused to leave the train. The fire spread to the passenger cars of the train and the diesel fuel of the locomotive also ignited. A panic arose. Numerous travelers suffered from smoke inhalation . The heat of the fire was so great that rails partially melted or bent to the ceiling of the tunnel.

consequences

33 people died and 117 others were injured. The locomotive and wagons were completely destroyed.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ BiH: Nesreća .
  2. ↑ NN: Vranduk .
  3. ↑ NN: Vranduk .
  4. ↑ NN: Vranduk .
  5. ↑ NN: Vranduk .
  6. ↑ NN: Vranduk .

Coordinates: 44 ° 17 ′ 51.9 ″  N , 17 ° 53 ′ 51.5 ″  E