New crash hits Swiss tunnels

Two key Swiss Alpine routes are now closed

An accident close to a Swiss mountain tunnel has created fresh travel chaos, less than a week after the devastating fire in the Gotthard tunnel.

A lorry and van collided on an access road to the St Bernhard tunnel in the south-east of the country, seriously injuring one person and forcing police to partially close the tunnel for several hours. It was later reopened.

The St Bernhard tunnel is the closest alternative to the Gotthard crossing, which will remain closed for months after last week's accident, in which 11 people died.

The St Bernhard route has been carrying seven times its normal level of lorry traffic since the Gotthard accident.

The Gotthard inferno killed at least 11 people

At the new crash site at the St Bernhard tunnel, rescuers had to cut the lorry driver free from his vehicle.

Police said they had stopped lorries using the tunnel and pass.

All south-bound lorries were halted, and north-bound traffic was also reported to be facing long delays.

Its closure created a fresh round of traffic problems, virtually closing the Italian border to heavy goods vehicles.

Last Thursday - the day after the Gotthard crash - the St Bernhard tunnel was also hit by a lorry crash.

Officials dealing with the aftermath of the Gotthard disaster have said that, although they are continuing to pick through the wrecked vehicles, they do not expect the death toll to rise.