), Antoine Chandellier is a French journalist who has reported on the Haute Savoie region for decades. The following week, something new and bad is on again and the wheel restarts its circle. Berthier talked to me about the first Memorial Spadino biker gathering. Before Mont Blanc, tunnel engineers were divided on the benefit of sprinkler systems. Its not clear whether he suspected trouble or thought he was making a routine trip back to the Italian portal. Ten tried to escape on foot, but it was too far to fresh air, and they couldnt outrun the toxic fumes. Toll Rises to 35 in Mont Blanc Tunnel Fire - New York Times Mont Blanc Tunnel | Description, History, Construction, Fire, & Facts 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. [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. Appendix 5 of the technical report 2016 R35 Experience with Significant Incidents in Road Tunnels provides a survey of 32 randomly selected real tunnel incidents, including a short description as well as important conclusions and improvements that could be identified for specific types of incidents or tunnel systems. 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. Seven other people, including the tunnel's Italian security chief, received suspended terms and fines. The tragic fire in the Mont Blanc tunnel of 24 March 1999, with 39 victims, and the subsequent fires in the Tauern (May 1999) and in the Gotthard (October 2001 . It was certainly selfless, but if the initial newspaper reports had been accurate, I doubt that the FIM and Italian government would have presented their medals. Sixteen accused of manslaughter in Mont Blanc inferno They listened as a river of incandescent margarine ignited fuel tanks and burst the tires of abandoned vehicles. The judicial inquiry is expected to concentrate on the safety standards of the 34-year- old single-bore tunnel - especially the absence of an escape tunnel and the adequacy of the ventilation system. In March 1999 a two-day fire killed 39 people and caused extensive damage to the tunnel, forcing it to close. I should have questioned how Tinazzi managed to operate in the French zone, when fully kitted firemen could not. And maybe that is enough. But he died trying to do so, and local bikers still gather at the tunnel mouth once a year to honor him. He had been presented with medals and buried with honors long before I arrived in Val dAosta. Mont Blanc Tunnel fire - Wikipedia Direction Italy - France. But I still wondered how so many journalists, beginning with the local papers, and ending with myself, got the facts so wrong. An international survey of major tunnel fires can be found in the technical report 05.16B Systems and equipment for fire and smoke control in road tunnels, Table 2.1 "Serious fires accidents in road tunnels". Thats the one magazine every other motorcycle editor reads, and so several more ran it in translation. 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. By then tales of Tinazzis bravery had already spread far and wide. Tunnel Inferno | Seconds from Disaster Wiki | Fandom Compounding the emotional toll, a lengthy renovation closed the tunnel and hurt tourist traffic. This motorcycle, scooter or moped-related article is a stub. It was more than five days before the tunnel cooled sufficiently to start repairs. Before they even reached the burning truck, they found themselves in a desperate fight for their own survival. Thats the one magazine every other motorcycle editor reads, and so several more ran it in translation. A detailed description of the Mont Blanc, Tauern and St. Gotthard fires including the original configuration of the tunnels, and a step-by-step guide to the incident, fire progression, and the behaviour of operators, emergency services and users, as well as the lessons to be drawn can be found in the technical report 05.16B Systems and He entered before there was any formal alert. The Mont Blanc Tunnel Fire | A Short Documentary - YouTube 35 DEAD IN EUROPE TUNNEL FIRE. Mont-Blanc tunnel fire: what lessons 24 years later? - Archyde Pierlucio Tinazzi, an Italian security guard who died attempting to rescue a truck driver, was posthumously awarded Italy's Medaglia d'Oro al Valore Civile.[6]. The director of the tunnel company, Remi Chardon, said earlier that at least 17 and up to 30 people were feared to have died. ICYMI:Newspaper upgrades CEOs housing stipend to $35K a month amid buyouts. and the presence of over 400 people in . [1] Drilling began in 1959 and was completed in 1962; the tunnel was opened to traffic on 19 July 1965. Temperatures reached 1,800 degrees Fahrenheit, and it took a week before the tunnel cooled enough for forensic investigators to reach the bodies. Over the years, there have been a few occasions when complete strangers thanked me for writing, Searching for Spadino. That always made my day. Nearly 2,000 people died and some 9,000 were injured in the disaster, which flattened more than 1 square mile (2.5 square km) of the city of Halifax. It includes heat detectors that can locate a fire to within 10 feet, and, as in Miami, a deluge system can dump several tropical rainstorms worth of water into a fire zone, while leaving the rest of the tunnel dry. 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. 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. The Fire in the Mont-Blanc Tunnel on 24th March, 1999 The Mont Blanc tunnel was opened on 16th July, 1965. For what its worth, Im glad it fell to others to break the truth to bikers in Val dAosta. When built, it was the world's longest road tunnel, linking the French and Italian highway systems and shortening truck routes between. Chris Hodgkins is the chief executive of Miami Tunnel, the company that built and operates the three-quarter-mile tunnel connecting the Port of Miami with the Interstate highway system. Pierlucio Tinazzi - Wikipedia
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