Ten feared dead in tunnel fire

Ten people were believed dead today after a collision between two trucks in the world’s second longest road tunnel in Switzerland, police said.

The crash in Gotthard Tunnel, a main north-south route through the Alps, took place one mile from the southern exit to the tunnel.

Both trucks caught fire immediately and dense black smoke quickly filled the tunnel and poured out of ventilation shafts.

‘‘We’ve just been able to get to the scene from both sides. It’s not just the two trucks there were several other vehicles involved in the accident. We have to assume that there are several dead,’’ said a police spokesman.

Police at the southern end said one of the drivers was believed killed while the other had escaped.

Drivers on both sides of the accident abandoned their vehicles and fled on foot.

Rescuers were unable to enter a 300-yard section of the tunnel for several hours because of the heat and because parts of the ceiling had collapsed. Explosions were heard inside the tunnel.

‘‘The heat is too high and there is zero visibility,’’ said a police spokesman.

One truck was carrying tyres and the smoke caused by the burning rubber was possibly poisonous. People living nearby were told to stay in their homes and keep windows and doors closed.

A handful of people were treated in hospital in Airolo for minor injuries and then released.

The 10-mile tunnel, the main route through the Swiss Alps between Germany and Italy, was until last year the longest road tunnel in the world.

The Swiss Government said 1.2 million trucks passed through the Gotthard Tunnel last year.

Traffic has increased since 1999 when a fire which claimed 39 lives closed the Mont Blanc Tunnel, which runs from France to Italy.