“It was bad!” – a Dutch couple looks back with a shudder at the salvage of the malfunctioning Venetbahn in the Tyrolean Oberland. The holidaymakers are extremely grateful to their rescuers. And one thing is certain: the holidaymakers will “come back!”
Tonnie and Jan Bouten (both 65) have experienced a lot during their previous holidays in the region around Landeck. However, they would have liked to have refrained from rappelling the gondola of the malfunctioning Venetbahn on June 12.
The Tyrolean fans wanted to take the train to Venet that afternoon, when suddenly nothing “worked” anymore. For about 30 minutes they tried to somehow get the gondola to continue its journey, but then it said, “Evacuate!”
shocked passengers
“We were shocked,” says Tonnie Bouten of the “Tiroler Krone”. No wonder: a ride on the cable car is always a challenge for them. “I don’t ride the chairlift at all.” The queasy feeling in the stomach didn’t improve either when mountain rescuers rode up to the cable car to the gondola and asked them to abseil from a height of 35 meters.
Tyrolean Translated Instructions
“The mountain rescuers explained to us exactly and very well what we had to do,” says the Dutchman. Fortunately, there was a Tyrolean on the train who speaks Dutch. She translated the instructions. It was probably also thanks to the good information from the mountain rescuers from Landeck and Schönwies that no panic broke out in the gondola. “My husband is not afraid of heights and kept calm – probably because of me,” laughs the 65-year-old on the phone.
A terrible moment
The moment when she actually hung on the rope was terrible. Slowly and carefully she and the other passengers were safely towed the 35 meters to the desired solid ground. “Then doctors took care of us and the fire service eventually drove us back to the hotel.” The passengers had to wait about four hours in the cramped cabin because evacuation by helicopter was initially considered.
Thanks to the emergency services
“We would like to thank you very much for the perfect organization of the evacuation”, Tonnie Bouten praised the emergency services. After this great adventure, the couple treats themselves to a “cable car break”. “But we’ll be back,” the two say in unison. A gondola ride is in any case not excluded.
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.
