Car lay in front of abyss

Rope saved 18-year-old in BMW wreck from crashing

The fire department used a cable winch to secure the BMW in Sierning, which was in danger of crashing.(Bild: laumat)

A few meters, if not centimeters, prevented even worse: an 18-year-old drove his BMW off the road in Sierning (Upper Austria) on Sunday night. After several rollovers, the car came to a halt in front of a steep embankment.

Part of the car was already hanging over the 15-meter-deep precipice. A 27-year-old man driving behind the driver set the rescue chain in motion. As soon as they arrived, the fire department secured the BMW, which was in danger of falling, with a rope, the other end of which was attached to an emergency vehicle.

Meanwhile, the 18-year-old from Steyr was helplessly trapped in the wreckage of his car. "The driver was responsive and we were able to calm him down," says Markus Hofstödter, the fire department's compulsory area commander, describing the operation. After around 40 minutes, the young man was extricated from the BMW and flown to the Kepler University Hospital in Linz with serious injuries.

Rescue helicopter took off a second time
A few hours later on Sunday morning, there was another accident in Hofkirchen im Mühlkreis. A 32-year-old local resident had also driven his car off the road there - he crashed into a tree stump while drunk.

A driver also had an accident in Hofkirchen/Mühlkreis on Sunday.(Bild: FF Hofkirchen im Mühlkreis)

The driver was able to get out of the car himself, but here too the rescue helicopter had to be called out.