This incident in Tyrol is highly explosive: 1,500 liters of diesel flowed from a truck on the rolling road (ROLA) – a train that transports vans by rail – into the Griesbergbach, part of it and then the Brennersee. The ROLA reportedly wants to keep the incident a secret.
“On Wednesday 20 July, Commander Alois Wieser was informed that the Griesbergbach was contaminated with oil. A team was immediately put together and several oil barriers were erected at the inlet of Lake Brenner.” That is exactly stated on the website of the Gries am Brenner fire brigade. Postscript: “The polluter could not be found.”
oil film on the lake
The background to the incident is only now known. In July, Albert Herzog, the fishing tenant from Lake Brenner, sounded the alarm. “I came to the lake on July 20 in the morning and already smelled diesel from afar,” he told the “Tiroler Krone”. Shortly afterwards, he saw the oil film on the water. He immediately notified the police and fire brigade.
Tank in truck heavily damaged
The “Krone” has documents that allow the conclusion that the oil film comes from a faulty tank of a truck on the ROLA. And that the incident happened the day before it was discovered by the fishing tenant. Because on July 19, the tank of a truck was badly damaged when it hit a train.
It is said that 1,500 liters of diesel have flowed into the track bed for about two hours – and so into the Griesbergbach, which flows through a tunnel and empties into the Brennersee.
“Security equipment worked”
ÖBB confirms that diesel escaped as a result of an incident when the car was driven into the car that day. “The employees present took immediate action and captured or bound the escaping diesel with the supplied mobile tubs and oil absorbents,” said ÖBB spokesman Christoph Gasser-Mair. In addition, all safety features were working “according to all available information also at the time of the incident”.
In the event of such a calamity, the fire brigade should be notified immediately. However, this did not happen in this case. “No one has sounded the alarm, much could have been prevented by acting quickly,” says an annoyed Herzog.
Notification by fishing tenants
According to information from “Krone”, the diesel leak should be covered up. An insider who wishes to remain anonymous suspects that a fire service operation would be prosecuted. The environmental scandal only became public a day later after Herzog’s tip.
The Gries fire brigade was then able to prevent even worse environmental damage. In any case, the fishing tenant has filed a report and the environmental department of the Innsbruck district is involved. No one from ÖBB commented on the cover-up allegation.
No comment from ÖBB on the cover-up allegation
Remarkable: it should not have been the first incident of this nature. “As early as 2020, 1,000 liters of diesel flowed from a ripped open truck tank into the Brennersee nature reserve,” Herzog recalls. “I also filed a complaint. The ROLA was then given the task of taking precautions to prevent such environmental pollution in the future,” he says. Yet this incident has happened.
Source: Krone
I am Ida Scott, a journalist and content author with a passion for uncovering the truth. I have been writing professionally for Today Times Live since 2020 and specialize in political news. My career began when I was just 17; I had already developed a knack for research and an eye for detail which made me stand out from my peers.
