Press review: Struggle to comprehend

The tunnel has been described as too narrow for lorries

By Emma Jane Kirby in Geneva

The French-language daily Le Temps runs an interview with the firefighters who last night pulled out the bodies of some of those who died in the tragedy.

"You have to imagine a place so dark it was almost stifling" say the firemen.

We're desperately searching for a meaning to it all

Le Temps

"The plastic of the cars had melted to the ground. Some of those we found on the tarmac were just a metre away from the emergency exits - they couldn`t have known what was happening to them."

In an editorial, the paper suggests Switzerland seems to be suffering from a catalogue of disasters.

First a gunman opens fire at the local parliament in Zug and kills 14 people, says the paper, then Switzerland is shamed as Swissair goes bankrupt and now we have the Gotthard fire.

"We're desperately searching for a meaning to it all," the paper adds.

South-east cut off

The Italian-language paper, La Regione Ticino, based in the canton where the accident happened, runs a column with the headline "Never again!"

The paper criticises the lack of dividing barriers between north- and south-bound traffic in the tunnel, and says it was simply too narrow to carry so many lorries.

Those who want to re-open Mont Blanc are criminals

Interviewee in Tribune de Geneve

The paper calls for a reduction in the number of heavy goods vehicles allowed through the tunnel, and for a ban on the transportation of dangerous loads.

But the paper says the tunnel must be reopened as soon as possible, reminding its readers that, stuck in the south-east corner of Switzerland, Ticino needs the tunnel or it will be cut off from the rest of the country.

The Tribune de Geneve says the Gotthard tragedy has split Europe in two as transport routes across the Alps are paralysed with the tunnels closure.

The paper rejects calls for for the construction of a second road route through Gotthard and declares the fire has marked the end of an era for heavy goods transport.

Rail plea

The only logical solution, claims the paper, is to transfer all freight onto rail routes.

The paper also runs interviews with groups opposed to the imminent reopening of the Mont Blanc tunnel, which was closed in 1999 after a fire claimed 39 lives.

"The Gotthard fire proves our point " says one interviewee, "and those who want to re-open Mont Blanc are criminals".

Until the Gotthard fire broke out on Wednesday, the front pages of all Swiss papers had been full of articles about the collapse of the national airline Swissair.

The German-language paper, the Tages Anzeiger, has another lead article on the subject this morning, warning that the situation is still highly explosive.

The paper says the rescue deal for the airline has failed to make plans for the futures of thousands of staff in catering, cargo and technical services.

These people are going crazy - says the paper - the water is rising above their necks, and all the authorities are doing is passing the buck.