Train fire victims mourned at service

A week ago, 155 strangers boarded a train to take them to the top of Kitzsteinhorn mountain in the Austrian alps for a day of skiing. Yesterday, 155 red roses were laid at the base of the cross in Salzburg Cathedral, one rose for each person who was trapped by the burning train and noxious smoke and died in the dark mountain tunnel.

Relatives of the dead gathered to mourn their loved ones and were joined by rescue workers in red and gold uniforms who worked round the clock in the blackened tunnel to recover the dead.

"No other accident in Austria has caused such an outpouring of nationwide sadness, grief and willingness to help," said President Thomas Klestil. "After the disaster on Kitzsteinhorn, our country and its authorities must make it their priority task to do everything they can to prevent a similar situation from ever happening in the future," he said.

The Chancellor, Mr Wolfgang Schussel and the German Chancellor, Mr Gerhard Schroder, attended the ceremony in honour of the 92 Austrians and 37 Germans who lost their lives. The other victims included 10 Japanese citizens, eight Americans, four Slovenes, two Dutch citizens, one Briton and one Czech citizen.

Pastor Thomas Rodeer spoke at the ceremony on behalf of the families. "Our grief cannot be put into words. Parents mourn for children, children mourn for parents," he said. Austrian national state television broadcast the service live, scrolling the names of the dead across the screen during the ecumenical service, as solemn music by Brahms and Mendelssohn filled the cathedral.

Officials have said 37 of the victims were under the age of 20, mostly teenagers on their way to a snowboarding festival on the Kitzsteinhorn mountain.

Only 12 people escaped the fire by breaking the train's rear window and escaping down the tunnel. The tunnel acted like a chimney, carrying toxic fumes up the tunnel, asphyxiating those running uphill as well as three people in the tunnel's top station.

All bodies were burned beyond recognition and pathologists in Salzburg are now identifying the victims using dental records and DNA tests.

The cause of the fire remains unclear, although investigators are awaiting results of tests on an oily substance found on the track leading into the tunnel.