Major exercise in Lungau

350 emergency services rehearsed for a disaster

A derailed train right next to the flooding Mur was one of the exercise tasks(Bild: Scharinger Daniel)

A derailed train, an avalanche rescue and a crashed plane - the emergency services in Lungau were not filming for Hollywood, but were rehearsing for an emergency during a large-scale exercise on Saturday.

Thankfully, the blood on the faces and bodies of the 60 or so extras was only made up. Nevertheless, the 350 or so emergency personnel approached the disaster exercise scenarios on Saturday with the utmost seriousness.

Around 60 extras took part in the exercise on Saturday(Bild: Scharinger Daniel)

Part of the large-scale exercise "Samson 2024" in Lungau included the scenario of a derailed train right next to the flooding Mur river. Dozens of people, some of them seriously injured, had to be rescued in this test run. Not an easy task. As if that wasn't enough, other fictitious exercise scenarios, such as an avalanche and an airplane crash, were also rehearsed in addition to the train accident.

A helicopter rescue was also included as a scenario(Bild: Scharinger Daniel)

Despite the major and, above all, unusual challenges, the emergency organizations involved in the large-scale exercise were satisfied with the trained procedures and the knowledge gained. All tasks were successfully practiced and mastered within the specified time frame.

In addition to the Salzburg Red Cross as the organizer of the exercise, other emergency services and organizations were also involved in the large-scale exercise. The execution of the exercise was closely coordinated with the Tamsweg district authority and the Steiermärkische Landesbahn, which also played an active role in the exercise.