Last bodies pulled from Austria train

Rescuers worked short shifts because the job was so traumatic

The last bodies have been recovered from the site of the Austrian ski train fire, the country's worst-ever peacetime disaster.

A total of 155 bodies have been pulled from the charred remains of the mountain train, which was destroyed in a tunnel inferno near the ski resort of Kaprun on Saturday.

The victims by nationality

92 Austrians

37 Germans

10 Japanese

8 Americans

4 Slovenians

2 Dutch

1 Czech

1 Briton

Major Franz Lang, who is leading the investigation into the disaster, told a news conference he was "99% certain" that the final death toll was 155.

Accident investigators are focusing on the possibility that a fault may have caused the fire before the train entered the tunnel.

They say a substance, possibly a lubricant, had dripped onto the track, and that chemical tests are now under way to identify the substance.

Possible criminal charges

A spokesman for the accident investigators, Christian Tisch, said witness and survivor accounts pointed to the fire having started soon after the ill-fated train pulled out of the valley station to travel up the Kitzsteinhorn mountain.

The funicular had been inspected only two months ago

The Salzburg prosecutor's office has launched preliminary investigations into the disaster ahead of possible criminal charges.

Experts have been pondering how an engineless train pulled by a cable could have caught fire in the first place.

Some believe that flammable ski equipment and clothes may have fuelled the blaze.

The tunnel, which opened in 1974, acted like a giant chimney, sucking oxygen in from the bottom and sending toxic smoke billowing upwards.

Burnt beyond recognition

Only 12 people survived. They had been at the rear of the train, which was packed with skiers, and fled to safety after smashing through windows.

When the accident is fully investigated, there will be a finding that something went wrong

US lawyer Ed Fagan

The bodies of those who died are being taken to the city of Salzburg for forensic tests to determine their identities.

Most are so badly burned that physical identification is impossible. Investigators hope to identify them by matching genetic material from the corpses with tissue on toothbrushes and razors of possible victims.

Medical and psychiatric personnel are providing counselling for those who need help dealing with the disaster.

The rescuers themselves worked in short bursts of 90 minutes because of the physically and psychologically gruelling conditions.

Litigation

Smoke was sucked through the tunnel like a giant chimney

Prominent US lawyer Ed Fagan has offered his services to victims' families, saying someone should take the blame for the tragedy.

"Lawsuits will come," said Mr Fagan. "When the accident is fully investigated, there will be a finding that something went wrong, either mechanical or man-made."

"On a per person basis you are talking about millions of dollars per person, assuming you have got a person who is a breadwinner."