Fire in Alpine road tunnel between Italy and France
{{date|June 5, 2005}}

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[[Image:Mt Washington Blaze 6.jpg|right|280px|Firefighters at work]]
Italian firefighters say a truck burst into flames inside the 13 km (8 mile) Frejus tunnel under the [[w:Alps|Alps]]. Two bodies have been recovered from the tunnel between [[w:Italy|Italy]] and [[w:France|France]]. According to the Italian news agency ANSA, the truck which caught fire was carrying tires, and the fire has spread to three other vehicles: another truck, loaded with paint, a van of the French tunnel company and a car. For much of the night, Italian emergency services were being held back about a mile from the fire by the intense heat, but the fire has now been put out. Several vehicles are thought to be still in the tunnel. Police are trying to contact a group of people who escaped on foot in order to assess whether people were trapped inside.

French officials have stated that all people who made it to safety alcoves (ventilated shelters directly linked to a fresh air shaft) on the French side of the tunnel have been safely rescued. The Italian side of the tunnel is now being searched for bodies by  the Italian emergency services.

[[Image:Fire crews at tunnel.jpg|left|295px|thumb|Fire crews seen from the webcam outside the tunnel]]
The tunnel has a 0.54% uphill gradient going from the French to the Italian side. Heat and smoke generally escaped on the Italian side, as the uphill tunnel acted like a [[w:chimney|chimney]] that sucked in cold fresh air from the French side.

Val Fréjus is a city on the French side of the border, in the [[w:Rhône-Alpes|Rhône-Alpes]] ''[[w:département|département]]''.

A fire in a similar tunnel under the Alps (the [[w:Mont Blanc Tunnel|Mont Blanc Tunnel]]) reached temperatures of 1,000° [[w:Celsius|Celsius]] and killed 39 people in [[w:1999|1999]].

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==External Media==
*[http://www.tunneldufrejus.com/webcam/index.html Webcam showing the exterior of the tunnel] -- updated hourly

==Sources==

*[http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apeurope_story.asp?category=1103&slug=France%20Tunnel%20Fire  Seattle Post Intelligencer]

*[http://msnbc.msn.com/id/8098164/ MSNBC]

*[http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L04161766.htm Alert Net]

*[http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/wire/sns-ap-france-tunnel-fire,1,4505154.story?coll=sns-ap-world-headlines Los Angeles Times]

*[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4610395.stm BBC]

*[http://www.ansa.it/main/notizie/fdg/200506042030201759/200506042030201759.html ANSA (Italian)] -- primary source

*[http://www.tunneldufrejus.com/english/presentation.htm Details of the tunnel design]

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[[Category:Disasters and accidents]]
[[Category:Fires]]
[[Category:Europe]]
[[Category:Italy]]
[[Category:France]]

[[de:Brand im Alpentunnel fordert zwei Tote]]
[[es:Incendio en Túnel Alpino entre Francia e Italia]]
[[it:Incidente stradale nel tunnel del Frejus]]
[[pt:Incêndio em túnel entre a França e a Itália mata pelo menos duas pessoas]]
Firefighters at work
Italian firefighters say a truck burst into flames inside the 13 km (8 mile) Frejus tunnel under the Alps. Two bodies have been recovered from the tunnel between Italy and France. According to the Italian news agency ANSA, the truck which caught fire was carrying tires, and the fire has spread to three other vehicles: another truck, loaded with paint, a van of the French tunnel company and a car. For much of the night, Italian emergency services were being held back about a mile from the fire by the intense heat, but the fire has now been put out. Several vehicles are thought to be still in the tunnel. Police are trying to contact a group of people who escaped on foot in order to assess whether people were trapped inside.

French officials have stated that all people who made it to safety alcoves (ventilated shelters directly linked to a fresh air shaft) on the French side of the tunnel have been safely rescued. The Italian side of the tunnel is now being searched for bodies by  the Italian emergency services.

Fire crews seen from the webcam outside the tunnel
The tunnel has a 0.54% uphill gradient going from the French to the Italian side. Heat and smoke generally escaped on the Italian side, as the uphill tunnel acted like a chimney that sucked in cold fresh air from the French side.

Val Fréjus is a city on the French side of the border, in the Rhône-Alpes département.

A fire in a similar tunnel under the Alps (the Mont Blanc Tunnel) reached temperatures of 1,000° Celsius and killed 39 people in 1999.

* MSNBC

* Alert Net

* Los Angeles Times

* BBC

* ANSA (Italian) -- primary source

* Details of the tunnel design

de:Brand im Alpentunnel fordert zwei Tote
es:Incendio en Túnel Alpino entre Francia e Italia
it:Incidente stradale nel tunnel del Frejus
Incêndio em túnel entre a França e a Itália mata pelo menos duas pessoas
Disasters and accidents Fires Europe Italy France