(ANSA) - The Frejus Alpine tunnel linking France and Italy re-opened on Thursday, two months after it was shut following a blaze that killed two motorists.
Cars will be allowed to drive without restrictions but officials are temporarily letting trucks over 3.5 tons go through the 12.7-km-long tunnel only one direction at a time.
Vehicles carrying dangerous materials will not be allowed through until the end of the month or start of September when officials are expected to complete checks on a new automatic fire detection service.
The tunnel was expected to reopen at the end of August. Two people died in the blaze which broke out around on the afternoon of June 4, when a truck carrying tires caught fire. The blaze quickly spread to other three trucks, killing truck drivers Pavel Blanarovik, 24, and Doliban Vukanovic,
23.
Firemen said they had battled against temperatures which topped 1,000 degrees centigrade. It took them till next day to put out the blaze.
