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Mont Blanc tunnel systems 'inefficient'

Jean-Pierre Chevenement said the systems seemed inadequate.

Motorists in 23 trucks, nine cars and a van were incinerated in the blaze which took French, Italian and Swiss firefighters more than 50 hours to bring under control.

Police have arrived at the tunnel to begin the process of identifying the bodies of the victims.

Mr Chevenement, in Chamonix for the funeral on Saturday of a firefighter who died battling the blaze, said the tunnel's security cameras were apparently not up to the challenge of such a fire.

"It seems that the cameras indicated a fire, but with all that smoke, they quickly had nothing of interest to show," he said.

The minister said an official inquiry into the blaze would report its findings on 31 May.

Molten asphalt

Flames engulfed a Belgian-registered truck carrying flour and margarine deep in the tunnel on Wednesday, and the fire quickly spread through the tunnel, which links France and Italy.

The temperature inside the tunnel raged over 1,000 degrees Celsius, melting asphalt, causing tyres to explode and bringing down part of the ceiling and walls.

But the full extent of the disaster did not emerge until Friday when the fire was finally put out.

The commander of the French rescue operations, Philippe Pathoux, said his firefighters had been horrified by the tragedy.

"The firefighters are in shock, especially those who went in first," he said, adding that the rescue operation would take several more days.

Officials expect the tunnel, underneath the 4,807-metre (15,863 ft) Mont Blanc will be closed for at least two months.

Relevant Stories

Tunnel inferno 'warning ignored' (26 Mar 99 | Europe)
Tunnel fire may have killed Briton (27 Mar 99 | UK)
Picture gallery: Tunnel inferno (26 Mar 99 | Europe)

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