It could have been much worse: a construction crane fell on a hotel in Gröbming in Upper Styria. The owner and neighbors tell the “Krone” how they experienced the anxious minutes in the middle of the night.
A loud bang, then an eerie silence – Karl Peitler was about to go to bed at 11:25 pm “when suddenly there was a rumble and the whole house shook. I thought to myself, that could just be the faucet!”
Gröbminger immediately rushed to his terrace and saw the full extent of the destruction from there. “My neighbor was already outside and was very upset because her car was in the destroyed carport. Fortunately, she managed it,” says the entrepreneur from Upper Styria, who describes the dramatic moments in the interview “Steirerkrone”.
“Last week there were still guests”
What happened? Hermann Wieser, on whose country house Amadeus the fallen crane caused considerable damage, explains: “We are building a residential building with six apartments, that’s why the crane is there. Apparently there’s a hole under the meadow. This caused the crane support to collapse. There really isn’t anyone who can do anything about it. The concrete slabs were strong enough.”
That no one was injured is pure luck: “Last week there were still guests, it could have ended badly.” The damage to the roof and the rooms must be repaired quickly so that the winter season is not jeopardized: “We start on April 15. December, it can be booked.”
‘It could have hit us all’
Everyone involved agrees: “We have been extremely lucky,” says Karl Peitler. “If the crane had fallen the other way, it would have hit us all.”
Raimund Hirz is also convinced of this. His son and daughter-in-law live next door to the hotel with their two grandchildren. The son told him it was “like an earthquake”. “When we all slowly realized that everything was going well, we had another beer together,” says Karl Peitler.
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.
