Twenty-seven members of Graz Kronen’s football squad and staff were rescued from their bus after floodwater surged through an underpass on the B182 near Matrei am Brenner in western Austria. Players climbed onto the roof as the water rose around the vehicle, and rescuers moved them along a raised service walkway to dry ground.
The evacuation began at 18:06 on Wednesday, 21 October, and took more than two hours. No one was injured, but the team’s cup match in Innsbruck was postponed after the squad missed its scheduled arrival.
Players above the flood
Fátima Ibarra, a district civil-protection duty coordinator, said a local rain gauge recorded 74 millimetres (2.9 inches) in three hours. The bus stopped in the 150-metre (492-foot) underpass when water covered the road; rescuers then guided passengers from its roof to a raised walkway using a secured line.
“We had less than 20 minutes before the water reached the first row of side windows,” Ibarra said. “The team stayed together, listened to instructions and moved one at a time.” The final passenger reached the road at 20:18, as rescue crews closed the route to traffic.
Captain Borna Pavletić said players had been on their way from a hotel near Matrei to the cup fixture when the bus entered the underpass. “We could see the water coming in faster than we expected,” he said. “The staff got us onto the roof, and then we waited for the rescuers to make a safe route.”
The press left us exposed before the water did.
Borna Pavletić, Graz Kronen captain
A match left waiting
The rescue came days after Pavletić criticised the team’s aggressive high press following a 4-1 league defeat. He said the tactic left too much space behind the defence; coach Albert Jug had defended the system and planned to use the cup tie to test adjustments.
Jug said the club would not rush players back into competition after the evacuation. “They are safe, and that is the only result that matters tonight,” he said. The cup organiser has not announced a replacement date, while Graz Kronen said it would resume training after medical and welfare checks.
The team’s opponent, fictional Innsbruck Nord, had already arrived at the stadium when the postponement was confirmed. Club officials said the referee and both teams agreed there was no practical way to play after the delayed arrival and disruption to the evening schedule.
The B182 remained closed while crews checked the underpass and cleared debris. Ibarra said the fast rise in water caught drivers out despite warning signs on roads in the district; authorities urged motorists to avoid low-lying routes if heavy rain returns.
Graz Kronen’s next league match is scheduled for Sunday. Pavletić said the players would meet to review both the rescue and their on-field shape, but added that the tactical argument could wait until the squad had returned to normal training.
