Today in Austria: A roundup of the latest news on Tuesday
The latest on the train crash, ministers resign, people ignoring mask rules on public transport and more news from Austria on Tuesday.
Train accident in Lower Austria leaves one dead and several injured
As The Local reported on Monday, a train accident early Monday evening in the Lower Austrian district of Mödling left one person dead and several injured, some seriously. It is not known at present why the train derailed.
According to ÖBB, the accident happened shortly after 18:00 on the Pottendorf line near Münchendorf. A train on the Raaberbahn was affected, a railcar and a wagon overturned.
According to Sonja Kellner from the Lower Austria Red Cross, the accident resulted in one fatality. Three people were seriously injured, nine others slightly injured, the spokeswoman said in the evening hours.
Broadcaster ORF said 44 people who were not injured were looked after and cared for in a nearby disaster relief centre in Lower Austria.
READ MORE: Train derails in Austria leaving one dead and many injured
Two Austrian ministers resign
Austria’s Agriculture Minister Elisabeth Köstinger announced her resignation on Monday. Economics Minister Margarete Schramböck followed suit just hours later. Both politicians were close to the former Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz.
The resignation has left Austria’s ÖVP party in “turmoil” according to Der Standard newspaper. The Krone newspaper notes that now only seven of the 17 turquoise-green government members originally sworn in by Federal President Alexander Van der Bellen on January 7, 2020 are still in the same office.
It gives the corruption investigations against Kurz and those around him, the Covid-19 pandemic and allegations of plagiarism as reasons for the various departures.
Austria’s opposition SPÖ and FPÖ parties have criticised the 14th government reshuffle and are calling for new elections. The "row of resignations" in the ÖVP shows that the turquoise-green federal government "only stands for chaos and self-employment", according to SPÖ federal manager Christian Deutsch.
More people flouting mask requirement on public transport
Public transport companies in Vienna and Linz report that they are increasingly seeing passengers who are not wearing masks, although it is still a requirement to wear an FFP2 mask on all public transport in Austria.
Wiener Linien says there has been an increase of more than a third of people who refuse to wear a mask on public transport, broadcaster ORF reports.
Covid deniers and opponents of pandemic measures had recently asked their followers on social media to stop wearing masks on public transport according to the Kurier newspaper.
However, according to Linz Linien, many Upper Austrians have started to forget their masks, now it is not worn in so many locations, ORF reports.
Underage refugees to be better protected after thousands ‘disappear’ in Austria
Plans have been set out to better protect underage refugees by the Minister of Justice Alma Zadic (Greens). Following a summit with state councillors, they agreed on the goal of "custody from day one". At present Austria is one of only three EU countries where it takes an average of more than a month for a guardian to be appointed.
Broadcaster ORF reports that there have been financing and personnel problems in the federal states when accommodating children and young people seeking protection since 2021.
The problem has become even greater with the Ukraine war, and many children are now arriving in Austria unaccompanied. It often takes a long time to clarify who is responsible for custody.
Zadic said it was “no longer acceptable” for the state to take weeks to work out who was responsible for the unaccompanied minors.
Between 2018 and 2020, 18,292 unaccompanied children went missing in Europe. In Austria of the 5,768 minors who applied for asylum in 2021, 4,489 – more than three quarters – disappeared without a trace. It is feared that many could have fallen victim to child trafficking, drug crime or child prostitution.
Six referendums will be discussed in Austria’s National Council
Six out of seven of the referendums launched in the past eight days have broken the necessary 100,000 mark to be debated in Austria's National Council, the Interior Ministry announced on Monday evening.
A referendum against the transport of live animals gained the most votes, followed by the anti-corruption referendum, broadcaster ORF reports. At least 100,000 signatures are required for a referendum to be dealt with by the National Council.
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Train accident in Lower Austria leaves one dead and several injured
As The Local reported on Monday, a train accident early Monday evening in the Lower Austrian district of Mödling left one person dead and several injured, some seriously. It is not known at present why the train derailed.
According to ÖBB, the accident happened shortly after 18:00 on the Pottendorf line near Münchendorf. A train on the Raaberbahn was affected, a railcar and a wagon overturned.
According to Sonja Kellner from the Lower Austria Red Cross, the accident resulted in one fatality. Three people were seriously injured, nine others slightly injured, the spokeswoman said in the evening hours.
Broadcaster ORF said 44 people who were not injured were looked after and cared for in a nearby disaster relief centre in Lower Austria.
READ MORE: Train derails in Austria leaving one dead and many injured
Two Austrian ministers resign
Austria’s Agriculture Minister Elisabeth Köstinger announced her resignation on Monday. Economics Minister Margarete Schramböck followed suit just hours later. Both politicians were close to the former Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz.
The resignation has left Austria’s ÖVP party in “turmoil” according to Der Standard newspaper. The Krone newspaper notes that now only seven of the 17 turquoise-green government members originally sworn in by Federal President Alexander Van der Bellen on January 7, 2020 are still in the same office.
It gives the corruption investigations against Kurz and those around him, the Covid-19 pandemic and allegations of plagiarism as reasons for the various departures.
Austria’s opposition SPÖ and FPÖ parties have criticised the 14th government reshuffle and are calling for new elections. The "row of resignations" in the ÖVP shows that the turquoise-green federal government "only stands for chaos and self-employment", according to SPÖ federal manager Christian Deutsch.
More people flouting mask requirement on public transport
Public transport companies in Vienna and Linz report that they are increasingly seeing passengers who are not wearing masks, although it is still a requirement to wear an FFP2 mask on all public transport in Austria.
Wiener Linien says there has been an increase of more than a third of people who refuse to wear a mask on public transport, broadcaster ORF reports.
Covid deniers and opponents of pandemic measures had recently asked their followers on social media to stop wearing masks on public transport according to the Kurier newspaper.
However, according to Linz Linien, many Upper Austrians have started to forget their masks, now it is not worn in so many locations, ORF reports.
Underage refugees to be better protected after thousands ‘disappear’ in Austria
Plans have been set out to better protect underage refugees by the Minister of Justice Alma Zadic (Greens). Following a summit with state councillors, they agreed on the goal of "custody from day one". At present Austria is one of only three EU countries where it takes an average of more than a month for a guardian to be appointed.
Broadcaster ORF reports that there have been financing and personnel problems in the federal states when accommodating children and young people seeking protection since 2021.
The problem has become even greater with the Ukraine war, and many children are now arriving in Austria unaccompanied. It often takes a long time to clarify who is responsible for custody.
Zadic said it was “no longer acceptable” for the state to take weeks to work out who was responsible for the unaccompanied minors.
Between 2018 and 2020, 18,292 unaccompanied children went missing in Europe. In Austria of the 5,768 minors who applied for asylum in 2021, 4,489 – more than three quarters – disappeared without a trace. It is feared that many could have fallen victim to child trafficking, drug crime or child prostitution.
Six referendums will be discussed in Austria’s National Council
Six out of seven of the referendums launched in the past eight days have broken the necessary 100,000 mark to be debated in Austria's National Council, the Interior Ministry announced on Monday evening.
A referendum against the transport of live animals gained the most votes, followed by the anti-corruption referendum, broadcaster ORF reports. At least 100,000 signatures are required for a referendum to be dealt with by the National Council.
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