It is the second emergency in a month: both had no consequences and yesterday’s was resolved with an even shorter closure.
Yesterday at 11.32am traffic at the Mont Blanc tunnel was interrupted in both directions due to a failure in the braking system of a trolley towed by a car. The problem was recorded at lay-by number 36, located approximately 500 meters from the Italian exit.
«The fault generated a light emission of smoke – says a note from the Geie of the tunnel, the binational European Economic Interest Group which manages the infrastructure -. In application of the safety procedures, the operators of the control and command station immediately closed the external entrances and blocked the flow of vehicles inside the tunnel by switching on the red traffic lights and lowering the traffic barriers placed there. every 600 metres.”
Rescuers present at the entrance to the tunnel intervened to check and make the vehicle safe. The 28 people on board the other vehicles present in the tunnel were invited to reach safe places and were assisted by operators and safety teams. Forty-two minutes later, at 12.14 pm, traffic was restored in both directions.
A similar event had happened on the morning of Monday 3 June, when an outbreak of fire in a truck with a Polish license plate had led to a closure of the tunnel that connects Italy with France for just under two and a half hours, with emergency for traffic and heavy vehicles stopped in the two regulation areas.
