Fire destroys tractor after driver spots smoke in Oberau

A tractor caught fire on the Wildschönauer state road in Oberau, in the Kufstein district, on Thursday afternoon, ORF reported. The 32-year-old German driver noticed smoke in his rear-view mirror and managed to uncouple the attached hay baler in time. No one was injured.

The driver had been travelling towards Niederau when he stopped the tractor after seeing light smoke. The tractor soon became fully engulfed in flames.

Volunteer fire brigades from Oberau and Niederau extinguished the fire. The tractor was seriously damaged. Diesel, hydraulic oil and transmission oil leaked onto the ground, requiring about 30 cubic metres of contaminated soil to be removed for proper disposal.

The road was closed to all traffic near the fire during firefighting and clean-up operations until 5.45pm. A local diversion was in place, and the road then remained open to single-lane traffic until 7.30pm.