A fourth of Austrians need better connection to public transport, the Austrian Traffic Club (VCÖ) reported today (Weds).Club expert Martin Blum said supply was not keeping up with demand and it was especially important to give the rail priority over roads.He added that 60 per cent of Austrians regularly used public transport, which accounted for […]
Church rejects blackmail bid
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The Roman Catholic Graz-Seckau diocese has today (Weds) revealed how a former victim of sexual abuse by priests tried to blackmail them for one million Euros.The dioceses made the statement when it confirmed reports about a case of sexual abuse of boys by a priest in the 1970s as reported by the newspaper Kleine Zeitung.The […]
The Committee for Alpine Safety today (Tues) rejected a proposed law on Alpine safety.Committee President Karl Gabl said: “In high Alpine areas, climbers have always been responsible for themselves.”Gabl claimed the criminal code already applied to hooligans on and off pistes and there was no need for additional legislation.He also said an Alpine safety law […]
Skiers safe after lift mistake
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Two Upper Austrian skiers were rescued on Sunday after taking the wrong lift up a mountain.The pair found themselves on the Krippenstein, 500 metres higher than their intended destination, Krippenbrunn in Upper Austrias Gmunden district, police said.Despite their mistake and the late hour, they decided to ski down the mountain. After losing their way and […]
A skier buried by an avalanche yesterday (Sun) near Klösterle am Arlberg, Vorarlberg, was able to free himself, police said.The man and a male companion triggered a 40-metre wide avalanche about 11:30am. The other man was also caught in the avalanche but was not buried.A skier who witnessed the avalanche called rescuers.In a more serious […]
Two Dutch boys aged 13 and 14 were rescued by helicopter as darkness was falling yesterday (Sun) near Loser in Styrias Liezen district.The boys were skiing off piste down to the valley floor when they became stranded at 4pm in a steep, rocky area at an elevation of 1,400 metres and called rescuers.In another incident […]
The Salzburg public prosecutors office said today (Mon) it was investigating a priest in Salzburg archdiocese in connection with child abuse.Office spokeswoman Barbara Feichtinger said the priest, a member of a religious order, had exposed himself to a seven-year-old boy and shown him obscene photos, morally endangering him.She said the charge against the priest would […]
An eight-year-old French girl injured her leg in a sledging accident at the Annaberg ski area in Lower Austria yesterday (Sun), police said.The girl was sledging down a run with two other French children when they missed a turn and crashed into a padded container next to a snow-making machine.The girl, who was sitting on […]
Avalanche risk to rise
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The danger of avalanches in Austrian mountains ranges from slight to considerable at present but is expected to rise over the weekend as the weather worsens.The Lower Austrian avalanche warning service said today (Fri) the level was three in areas bordering on the Ybbs Valley and the Rax-Schneeberg area, two in Türnitz Alps and one […]
The Roman Catholic Vienna archdiocese has had an ombudsmen for sexual abuse of children since 1996, it revealed today (Weds).Erich Leitenberger, the press spokesman for the Vienna archdiocese, said psychotherapist and psychiatrist Johannes Wancata was the current ombudsman.Wancata said: “We are at the victims disposal. We take every suspicion seriously and are prepared to follow […]