A 38-year-old dad in Austria has thrown himself and his six-year-old daughter in front of a train in a fatal incident that the police are treating as a murder-suicide.

The dad had reportedly announced last summer that he would throw his daughter and himself in front of a train.

The incident took place in the municipality of Sollenau, which is located in the Wiener Neustadt-Land District, in Lower Austria, near the Austrian capital Vienna.

It took place on Wednesday evening (12th January), with the emergency services notified shortly after 10.30pm.

The father is said to have gone with the child on the tracks of the railway in front of an approaching Railjet train that was heading north to Vienna.

The State Criminal Police Office of Lower Austria identified the two deceased, who have not been named.

The mother, 33, who has not been named either but who is said to be the winner of several unspecified ‘Miss’ beauty pageants, was provided care by a crisis intervention team. A second daughter is reportedly in her care.

The Fire Brigade said that the passengers on the train were evacuated and escorted to a nearby car park before being transported on to their destination by bus.

The railway line was reportedly closed for around three hours before normal operations could resume.

The girl’s parents are said to have been separated, according to media reports, with custody of the child being shared between the two. Marital problems are believed to have been at the root of the incident.

The police had recently responded to a call about domestic violence involving the couple, according to at least one report.

And according to another local media report, the 38-year-old man had announced last summer that he and his daughter would throw themselves in front of a train.

The investigation is ongoing.