Coach – tram crash injures 12
At least 12 people were injured when a coach collided with a tram in the city centre of Vienna this morning (Fri).The driver of the coach transporting a group of tourists from Serbia steered into a line 2 tram in the Ringstraße boulevard road. Police investigations have shown that the coach driver failed to notice the oncoming tram when he took a bend.The 47-year-old tram driver hit the emergency brake but failed to avoid the collision.Three passengers were injured, while at least nine tourists from Serbia were harmed. Paramedics said none of the victims sustained serious injuries, adding that all of them suffered cuts and bruises which they were able to treat immediately. No one had to be hospitalised.Public transport on the affected tram line which runs past sights like the parliament, the Burgtheater and the university a major road for both commuters and tourists came to a halt for several hours following the crash.The worst accident in the history of the city occurred in August 1969 when a drunks tram derailed at high speed. Twenty people lost their lives, with another 100 injured.Another spectacular crash took place in April 1998 when a tram derailed and rammed into the foyer of a bank. One clerk was killed when the wagon speared him as he was maintaining a cash machine, while 37 others were injured.