Dozens still missing after Gotthard tunnel inferno
Rescue workers have reached the site of an accident in the Gotthard tunnel, two days after a collision sparked a fire, which left at least 11 people dead and 128 unaccounted for.
Fire crews are working to stabilise sections of the tunnel’s roof, which is in danger of collapsing. Parts of it have already caved in because of the blaze’s extremely high temperatures, which reached 1,000 degrees Celsius.
Ticino police said at least one woman and ten men are confirmed dead, and they expect to find dozens of incinerated vehicles close to the site of the crash.
The authorities say some 128 people are have not been heard from since the blaze erupted. They stressed, however, that some of those listed as missing may not have been in the tunnel at the time.
Four of the known victims died in their cars, while six were found on the asphalt, asphyxiated by the heavy fumes.
The local public prosecutor has begun an investigation into the accident, which occurred when two trucks collided head-on, about 1.5 kilometers from the southern entrance to the tunnel.
The crash set off a fire which spread rapidly to a cargo of tyres on one of the trucks, causing waves of toxic smoke.
Many motorists managed to escape, either by driving out of the other entrance of the 16-kilometre tunnel, or escaping into a safety tunnel which runs alongside the two traffic lanes.
President Moritz Leuenberger visited the site of the accident on Thursday and described it as a scene of total destruction. “I am amazed, so many people have actually survived,” he said.
Massive rescue effort
Some 300 people, including police, firefighters and rescue workers were engaged in the rescue efforts, using five helicopters and 60 emergency vehicles.
After the accident, police quickly closed the 16-kilometre tunnel, which lies along Europe’s main north-south axis, and is the world’s second longest road tunnel.
Parts of the tunnel roof collapsed, making the rescue work extremely hazardous. Further sections of the roof remain at risk of collapsing, police said on Thursday.
The tunnel will remain closed for two or three months, head of police in the canton of Ticino, Romano Piazzini, said.
The authorities have tried to reorganise the flow of traffic through the Alps. However, travel between Italy and Switzerland was cut off on Thursday after another fatal truck accident occurred near the San Bernardino tunnel, an alternate route to the Gotthard.
Police said a truck crashed into oncoming traffic at the San Bernardino pass, killing the driver of a mini bus.
The situation was reported to be chaotic at the Chiasso border post in the south of Switzerland, at the entrance to Italy. Related traffic problems were reported throughout the main European north-south routes, because of the Gotthard and San Bernardino accidents.
Rail alternative
Some alpine communities which normally use the Gotthard tunnel fear they will be cut off during the coming winter.
The Swiss federal railways have already increased the number of trains carrying lorries through the Alps. The railways cargo division plans to increase capacity by 20 to 30 per cent.
The number of trains carrying cars through the Lötschberg tunnel between cantons Bern and Valais will also be increased.
The 7.8 metre-wide Gotthard tunnel holds two lanes of traffic as well as a safety corridor to enable rescuers to reach the scene of an accident quickly, although the corridor is too narrow for fire-fighting vehicles.
Some 18,000 vehicles traverse the tunnel daily. Traffic in the Gotthard, the main route through the Alps, has increased significantly since 1999 when a fire closed the Mont Blanc tunnel – the main alpine link between France and Italy – and killed 39 people.
There are survival spaces at 250 metre intervals throughout the tunnel, which can accommodate up to 70 people. The ventilation system is capable of replacing the air in the tunnel within 15 minutes.
Each year, about five fires are reported at the tunnel. Nonetheless, it is considered to be a safe route for motorists.
A report commissioned by the government after the Mont-Blanc tragedy said security in the Gotthard tunnel was “good”.
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