Car explosion in Vienna

Residents heard a bang, street completely filled with smoke

Viennese residents heard a bang several times, apparently an old car had exploded. The explosion was followed by thick smoke.(Bild: Leserreporter)

At around 12 noon on Saturday, a bang shook Vienna-Margareten, followed shortly afterwards by two more. When a resident looked out of the window, a Mercedes was already on fire. Within minutes, thick smoke covered the entire street. The police asked residents to close their windows.

The series of pictures taken by the "Krone" reader reporter shows how the entire Kohlstraße in Vienna-Margareten was enveloped in thick smoke within a few minutes. The smoke made visibility increasingly difficult. According to a local resident, the police were quickly on the scene and cordoned off the area around the burning car.

Kohlstrasse was completely filled with smoke within minutes: 

When the woman approached the window after the explosion and opened it, a police officer shouted from downstairs: "Get away! Close the window!" The smoke quickly drifted upwards and, according to the resident, irritated her throat when she breathed.

Shortly after a second bang, the fire department arrived and quickly brought the flames under control. According to police spokeswoman Anna Gutt, a "technical defect" is likely to have caused the fire in the older Mercedes model. Fortunately, no one was injured.