The region needed a hero, and soon after the fire, the government of Italy honored Mr. Tinazzi with a gold medal for civilian bravery. In the Mont-Blanc fire in March 1999, the asphalt road . The Mont Blanc Tunnel is a highway tunnel between France and Italy, under the Mont Blanc mountain in the Alps. The seven-mile-long bore, linking France and Italy, carries up to 4,000 trucks a day, many times the level of traffic for which it was designed in the early 1960s. [6], Three years later the tunnel was inaugurated by the French president, Charles de Gaulle, and the Italian President, Giuseppe Saragat on 16 July 1965. Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in, Find your bookmarks in your Independent Premium section, under my profile. Not your archetypal biker. After a long chat over Skype on technical topics, I asked whether he could confirm Tinazzis actions. 20. When built, it was the world's longest road tunnel, linking the French and Italian highway systems and shortening truck routes between. Twenty years ago, Pierlucio "Spadino" Tinazzi was a security guard who patrolled the Mont Blanc tunnel in the Alps by motorcycle, in order to ensure a steady flow of traffic. ICYMI:A reporter asked for 20 years of lottery winner data. It was an ordinary truck with ordinary cargo: nine tons of margarine and 12 tons of flour. The tunnel is notable for its solution of a difficult ventilation problem and for being the first large rock tunnel to be excavated full-facei.e., with the entire diameter of the tunnel bore drilled and blasted. It felt like someone I had been married to for years had been cheating on me all along. He had been devastated when his wife, who hated the alpine winters, left him and returned to her native Puglia in the far south. A year after the fire, thousands of bikers gathered at the Italian portal to commemorate him. The following week, something new and bad is on again and the wheel restarts its circle. Some lessons learned can be given as examples, such as: However, it is not possible to give generally applicable recommendations on the basis of these findings because these may be different in dependence of the specific conditions of an individual country and an individual tunnel. Called the Mont Blanc Vehicular Tunnel, the stretch opened 12 years later. The Mont Blanc Tunnel finally reopened in 2002. While the legend of the biker was exaggerated, the horror of the fire there 20 years ago and its impact on tunnel safety cannot be overstated.CreditSamuel Zeller for The New York Times. The 16 defendants include individuals and companies. [6] Surveillance cameras were installed in 1978. [5] In 1962, the French and Italian drilling teams met on 4 August. Omissions? In most of these, human negligence is somehow involved. This motorcycle, scooter or moped-related article is a stub. 40 deaths He was Italian, but as it happened, he entered the tunnel from the French side. Here all trucks are inspected well before the tunnel entrance. The tunnel is 11.611km (7.215mi) in length, 8.6m (28ft) in width, and 4.35m (14.3ft) in height. I got caught on the phrase entered the smoke-filled tunnel from the Italian side, because I knew Tinazzi wasnt on the Italian side. Do not hesitate to send us your comments, questions and suggestions. We shall answer you as soon as possible. Some of the cars from the French side managed to turn around in the narrow two-lane tunnel to retreat back to France, but navigating the road in the dense smoke that had rapidly filled the tunnel quickly made this impossible. Seven other people, including the tunnel's Italian security chief, received suspended terms and fines. March 20, 2023 by archyde. Any people in the security bays now have video contact with the control centre, so they can communicate with the people trapped inside and inform them about what is happening in the tunnel more clearly. Investigations following the horrific tunnel fire that claimed the lives of 39 travellers and closed the vital France-Italy Alpine route to all traffic in March 1999, revealed that safety aspects of the Mont Blanc highway tunnel fell far short of adequate standards for the busy 11.4km single-tube, two-lane, bi-directional road tunnel. In 1997, a fire detection system was installed along with centralized safety equipment management, and new variable message signs. People think of tunnels as a hole through the ground, he said, but thats not the case anymore. By then tales of Tinazzis bravery had already spread far and wide. In 2010, the average traffic volume was 4,945 vehicles per day, or around 1.80 million vehicles per year. It held that title. The fire spread over 34 vehicles and was finally extinguished after 53 hours. Maybe like Italian motorcycle magazines, the newspapers quietly started telling the truth about him, without ever admitting the initial error. Shortly after, the driver realized something was wrong as cars coming in the opposite direction flashed their headlights at him; a glance in his mirrors showed white smoke coming out from under his cabin. That same year, the STMB (Socit du tunnel du Mont Blanc) was formed, which became ATMB (Autoroutes et Tunnel du Mont Blanc) in 1996. Both French and Italian firefighters criticised the ventilation system, unchanged since the tunnel was built and attacked in an official report last year. Five hours later and with no time to spare, a rescue crew reached the firemen via a ventilation duct. A MANSLAUGHTER investigation has been launched by French authorities into the horrific blaze in the Mont Blanc tunnel in which 35 died. A reporter asked for 20 years of lottery winner data. 99 Tunnel, said the boring machine was 57 feet in diameter, providing room for spaces for safety systems in addition to the roadways. By. Part of his job involved riding back and forth through the tunnel on his motorcycle to keep traffic flowing, dispatching tow trucks and providing motorist assistance as needed. The first, Seconds from Disaster Tunnel Inferno (aired 2004), was a reconstruction of the events leading up to and during the disaster and the conclusions of the investigation that followed. After analyzing the records, he noticed something unusual. . The truck came through the tollbooth at 10:46 CET. Save almost 70%: 15.21 instead of 48.80 one way. It was more than five days before the tunnel cooled sufficiently to start repairs. The fire resulted in million of dollars in damage, thirty-nine deaths, and a three-year closure of the tunnel. Other victims were found in "sealed" safety refuges, built eight years ago. but more importantly the blaze made operators and designers of other tunnels re-examine fire risks. By 11:30, 37 minutes after start of the fire, smoke had reached the French entrance of the tunnel, 6 kilometres from the truck. a more efficient organisation of operational and emergency services (harmonised, safer and more efficient emergency procedures, specifically for cross-border operation). All the deceased were on the French side, and were ultimately reduced to bones and ash by the intense heat. A remote site for cargo safety inspection was created on each side: Aosta in Italy and Passy-Le Fayet in France. The fire spread to other cargo vehicles nearby that also carried combustible loads. + Follow. I suppose I would sympathize with a local reporter who on deadline, in the chaos of those first days conflated events from both ends of the tunnel. When I pressed him, he fell silent for a moment before saying, My advice is, dont become preoccupied with some accounting of lives saved versus lives lost.. Nicholas Borghi is a skier, heading from his home in Italy to ski resorts in France. . As the trucks cargo burned, it produced dense, toxic smoke that billowed back towards France. However, characteristic events are fortunately rare, and may be limited to specific circumstances. Around 11 a.m., a Volvo FH12 tractor-trailer, registered in Belgium, stopped to pay the toll. He appeared to be in his 50s at the time of the fire, so its not certain hes still alive. This is exactly what happened almost at the mid- point of the tunnel - underneath western Europe's highest mountain, three and a half miles from the open air - on Wednesday morning. I tell people, This is like a building for cars.. Grard Roncoli, the head of security at the tunnel, was convicted and sentenced to six months in jail plus an additional two-year suspended sentence, the heaviest sentence levied against any of the defendants. The Mont Blanc Tunnel is not like any other road tunnel: at 11.6 kilometers long, it was the world's longest road tunnel when it opened for traffic on July 19, 1965. was the first magazine to print it, in 2003. The second, Into the Flames Fire Underground (aired 2006), revisited the circumstances and showed how new technology in the form of a new type of fire extinguisher could have reduced the scale of the disaster and enabled the fire service to reach and remain in the vicinity to fight the fire. Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? William Connell, a tunnel systems engineer, was working on the enormous tunnel project known as the Big Dig in Boston at the time of the fire. Near the fire, he came upon Maurice Lebras, a French truck driver who was unconscious. And my curiosity finally got the better of me. There were 29 deaths of people trapped inside of vehicles, and nine more died trying to escape on foot. But in recent weeks I have realized, with a creeping feeling of unease, that it was wrong. A spokesman for the. They plunged into thick, toxic smoke. Then on the occasion of its 20th anniversary, this year, I was commissioned to write a feature for The New York Times, looking back on the fire as the worlds most closely examined road disaster. The central ventilation hangar on the Italian side helps control the air in the tunnel. An Italian or French-language search for the heros name, yielded posts that were a lot more circumspect when it came to describing Tinazzis actions that day. Temperatures in the tunnel reached at least 1,832 degrees . Large-scale generation and characterisation of fire effluents. Safety precautions have been tightened in recent years. But all the witnesses and officials were under gag orders, and records including security video and recordings of radio traffic were sealed due to ongoing criminal and civil investigations. Victims 11 deaths 5 deaths 155 deaths 12 deaths 39 deaths 5 deaths 2 injured Vehicles damaged 10 cars 23 lorries . The report revealed that Tinazzi was outside the tunnel, at the French portal, when the Belgian truck entered; Id been right about that much. But Id taken pride in this story for so long. In the aftermath, major changes were made to the tunnel to improve its safety. After a long chat over Skype on technical topics, I asked whether he could confirm Tinazzis actions. The last people to safely escape the tunnel in the direction of France told the investigators they thought he was trying to catch up to the burning truck. [2] He was also given a special gold medal by the motorcycle sport governing body Fdration Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM). He was asked about the security measures that he ordered, or did not order, to be carried out. On the morning of 24 March 1999, 39 people died when a Belgian transport truck carrying flour and margarine, which had entered the French-side portal, caught fire in the tunnel. He could have turned back, but he didnt. In Seattle, the recently opened S.R. Technical report 05.16B Systems and equipment for fire and smoke control in road tunnels. 39 people were killed. This phase is the terminal phase of victims as a result of the fire. The safety shafts also have clean air flowing through them via vents. Balladur claimed that the catastrophe could be attributed to the fact the tunnel had been divided into two sections operated by two companies (one in France, the other in Italy), which failed to coordinate the situation. The Mont Blanc tunnel fire March 1999 killed 39 persons, of which most died within 15 min due to intoxication. Tinazzi was on the French side of the tunnel, from where he donned breathing equipment and drove into the tunnel on his BMW K75 motorcycle in an attempt to save people trapped in the tunnel; after finding unconscious truck driver Maurice Lebras, who was too heavy to be loaded on his motorcycle, he dragged him to a refuge station in the tunnel, where both were killed by smoke or flames. [5] In 1908, a first design was presented by French engineer Arnold Monod, to much interest from Italian and French politicians. Broadcast on March 20 at 11:15 p.m. on France 3. The project is located in Chamonix-Mont-Blanc and Courmayeur, Valle d'Aosta, Italy. According to the National Geographic documentary programme Seconds from Disaster, the fire and smoke appeared at around 10:49. A year after the fire, thousands of bikers gathered at the Italian portal to commemorate him. [1] The event expanded into a catastrophe which cost the lives of 39 people. French highway network. The magnitude of death and destruction reverberated widely. [5] This was preceded by the signing of a national charter for the tunnel construction, ratified by the parliaments of France (1957) and Italy (1954). Concerns included impaired visibility for motorists as well as reliability and maintenance costs. Other vehicles travelling through the tunnel became . [1] However, in 2019, a writer researching the story found the full description of the events in French police reports: A motorcycle security guard, Patrick Devouassoux, who survived the fire, did indeed save several people while driving a Renault Express minivan. Built in 1980, the Gotthard has had increased traffic since a 1999 fire forced the closure of the Mont Blanc tunnel between France and Italy. But he never reached it; he stopped when the smoke became too thick. Five tunnel fires, all in Europe, resulted in 72 deaths. Although several lines of vehicles can queue up at the toll station, only a limited number of vehicles per unit time is allowed to transit the tunnel to ensure a safety distance between them. Serious questions about the safety of the tunnel were raised by rescue organisations last year. The Miami tunnel is a twin-bore tunnel, with a separate passageway for traffic in each direction. Hence a systematic analysis of less severe, but more frequent incidents (collisions and fires) may provide a more representative picutre of real tunnel incidents. The toxic effects of the fire product are important in the second and third phase. We have 44 jet fans that can operate in either direction, so we can suck air away from the fire, so toxins dont affect people in the tunnel.. The narrow tunnel turned into a furnace. The driver, who had been alerted to a problem by oncoming vehicles, stopped almost in the middle of the 7.2-mile tunnel. Road traffic grew steadily until 1994, even with the opening of the Frjus tunnel. Brian Russell, the civil engineer who served as project manager on the S.R. . It has cross-passages every 450 feet so that, in a fire, people can escape through the other tunnel. I went to the tunnel control center, and to the local Carabinieri post, where I spoke to managers and cops who must have known that the accounts published in 1999 were exaggerated. Nothing in the official record suggests his motivation. [1] Tinazzi's and Devouassoux's actions were apparently intermingled in subsequent press accounts.[1]. The driver escaped unhurt; the deluge system kept the fire under control until a Miami-Dade fire crew arrived. Technical report 05.05B Fire and smoke control in road tunnels. Paolo Sormani, the motorcycle writer who had initially been reticent, seemed to have a change of heart a few days later, when he wrote back in Italian-accented English to explain. Reporters wrote background stories about Tinazzi, but had little to go on. He was a mild-mannered introvert who loved gardening; occasionally he distributed a bumper crop of vegetables to other workers at the tunnel. It took a week for the tunnel to cool enough to recover their bodies, and those of the 36 others who had perished in the tunnel. Mr. Tinazzi was most likely the first tunnel employee to realize the Belgian truck was trailing smoke. I fell asleep that night increasingly certain that I had gotten. And my curiosity finally got the better of me. YouTube isn't a fan of videos regarding "graphic" content. An investigation found no evidence of a design fault with the truck. Download file to see previous pages. To this day, no one can say with certainty why the rig caught fire. Witnesses reported that the fire had very quickly become too intense to drive past. He looks in his rear view mirror: his cargo of margarine and flour has caught fire. This page was last edited on 19 April 2023, at 12:22. The fire burned for 50 hours. The Mont Blanc Tunnel was originally managed by the two building companies. Fires in long traffic tunnels are rare. Le tunnel des Tauern a t ouvert en 1975, celui du St. Gothard en 1980. But the one thing everyone agreed on was that Spadino loved motorcycles. A link between France and Italy, its crossing needs a dozen minutes. When it was opened it was the worlds longest and deepest road tunnel. Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in, Please refresh your browser to be logged in, Extra 20% off selected fashion and sportswear at Very, Get up to 10% off using the Booking.com app, 50 off over 650 using this Expedia discount code, $6 off a $50+ order with this AliExpress discount code, 10% off selected product with this eBay voucher code, Compare broadband packages side by side to find the best deal for you, Compare cheap broadband deals from providers with fastest speed in your area, All you need to know about fibre broadband, Best Apple iPhone Deals in the UK May 2023, Compare iPhone contract deals and get the best offer this May, Compare the best mobile phone deals from the top networks and brands. French police announced last night that as many as 40 trucks and cars may have been engulfed by the fire, making it probably the worst road tunnel accident in history. Eight drivers, including the driver of the Belgian truck thought to have caused the accident, are known to have escaped before the fire reached its height. It was a week before the tunnel cooled enough for forensic investigators to recover bodies. This can be achieved by the provision of safe design criteria for new tunnels, as well as effective management and possible upgrading of in-service tunnels, and through improved information and better communications with tunnel users. Corrections? Anyone can read what you share. Coordinates: .mw-parser-output .geo-default,.mw-parser-output .geo-dms,.mw-parser-output .geo-dec{display:inline}.mw-parser-output .geo-nondefault,.mw-parser-output .geo-multi-punct{display:none}.mw-parser-output .longitude,.mw-parser-output .latitude{white-space:nowrap}455358N 65151E / 45.8995N 6.8642E / 45.8995; 6.8642. research, I spoke to Jean-Marc Berthier, the engineer who reopened the Mont Blanc Tunnel after extensive renovations and safety improvements. The tunnel, opened with great fanfare in 1965, is seven miles long.

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