Tunnel fears • E Calls for major improvements to safety and
Page 5
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
security in European road tunnels have been made following the deaths of five people in a fire in the Tauern Tunnel between Flachau and St Michael in the Alps.
The blaze started at 03:00hrs on 29 May when a truck carrying paint caught fire after colliding with a car at the tunnel's northern entrance. Early this year a fire in the Mont Blanc tunnel killed 40 people, including a British van driver (CM1-7 April).
The Tauern Tunnel fire was not brought under control for 12 hours; 22 cars and 12 trucks were destroyed in the blaze.
David Green, president of the International Road Transport Union. says the authorities in charge of supervising these tunnels should "employ all modern construction techniques and monitoring devices to end all risk to drivers".
A number of road tunnels in Switzerland were closed after Saturday's fire when tests revealed they could become death traps in the event of a fire due to poor ventilation.