Traffic jams have formed at both ends of the tunnel due to the accident
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A frontal collision killed two people on Wednesday morning in the Gotthard road tunnel. Four other people were injured. The tunnel remained closed until around 3:30pm.
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The accident occurred at 9:15am five kilometres from the northern entry at Göschenen in canton Uri, the police said. For reasons still unknown, a German motorist coming from the south drifted the wrong way, colliding into a Swiss-registered truck.
The tunnel infrastructure was also damaged, according to the Viasuisse Traffic Information Service. Traffic jams formed at both ends of the tunnel. Travellers were advised to take the A13 motorway via the San Bernardino.
This is not the first accident in the tunnel. In 2001, a collision between two trucks caused a fire that killed 11 people. At 16.9km, the Gotthard road tunnel is the longest in Switzerland and was inaugurated in September 1980. It runs from Göschenen in canton Uri in the north to Airolo in canton Ticino to the south.
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Second Gotthard road tunnel given green light
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Following a debate of more than three hours, the House of Representatives on Wednesday agreed to drill an additional shaft and renovate the existing road tunnel after more than 30 years in operation. The Senate had approved the bill in March. Wednesday’s discussions pitched centre-left parties against an alliance of the centre-right and the rightwing…
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Second Gotthard road tunnel given green light
This content was published on
Following a debate of more than three hours, the House of Representatives on Wednesday agreed to drill an additional shaft and renovate the existing road tunnel after more than 30 years in operation. The Senate had approved the bill in March. Wednesday’s discussions pitched centre-left parties against an alliance of the centre-right and the rightwing…
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The date was October 24, 2001, the time 9.39am. Inside the Gotthard tunnel, traffic was running smoothly. Suddenly, one kilometre short of the south entrance, a truck veered out of control. “I tried to avoid it, but it just came right at me,” said Italian truck driver Bruno Saba afterwards. When the crash happened, Saba…
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here. Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.