A GIANT drilling machine punched its way through a final section of Alpine rock yesterday to complete the world’s longest tunnel, after 15 years of sometimes lethal construction work.

SWITZERLAND conceded yesterday that its air traffic controllers were at least partly to blame for the midair collision of a Russian charter jet and a cargo plane which killed 71 people.

Rescuers are battling to recover bodies from the Gotthard Tunnel blaze in Switzerland, amid uncertainty about the number of victims.

More than 120 people are now reported missing in the Gotthard Tunnel crash in Switzerland.

Extreme heat defeated efforts by firefighters today to tackle a blaze in the world’s second-longest road tunnel which killed up to 20 people.