Truck Collision in Swiss Tunnel Leaves 10 Dead

Fire spewed thick black smoke in one of the world’s longest road tunnels after two trucks crashed head-on Wednesday morning, trapping motorists. At least 10 people died, police said.

Intense heat and smoke kept rescuers from reaching the crash site for hours, and the death toll was expected to rise, said Benno Buehlmann, chief of Uri canton’s chemical department.

Many motorists and truckers managed to reach emergency exits on the more than 10-mile-long St. Gotthard Tunnel, which cuts through the Swiss Alps and is a key connection between northern and southern Europe.

“Without the safety shelters, we would have many more victims on our hands,” Buehlmann said.

The 10 dead included one of the truck drivers, said Mario Ritter, spokesman for Ticino canton police.

Several fires were still burning in the tunnel late Wednesday. Buehlmann said rescuers planned to let the fire burn itself out.

Rescue attempts were hampered by temperatures of about 1,800 degrees, officials said earlier. An explosion shortly after the crash had also caused a 100-yard stretch of the roof to collapse onto several vehicles, they said.

The surviving driver, Bruno Saba, told reporters that he was heading south when he saw the other truck veer out of control, smash into his vehicle and then slam into the tunnel wall.

“I was able to climb out and help other people escape,” Saba said.

Rescue workers were deployed within a minute of the crash as thick smoke fueled by a load of tires on one of the trucks billowed out of the tunnel, officials said.