11 die, over 100 missing as Alpine tunnel fire burns on

AIROLO, Switzerland -- Fighting temperatures above 1,800 degrees, rescuers beat back a fierce blaze Thursday inside the longest highway tunnel through the Alps. Eleven people were confirmed dead, and officials fear others lay incinerated in the inferno.

Some 128 people were reported missing by family and friends -- up from 80 Thursday morning. Authorities said the higher number reflected duplication, with worried people phoning separate hotlines in different Swiss states.

"It is a scene of horror; a scene of total destruction; a scene of dreadful tragedy," said Swiss President Moritz Leuenberger, who is also transport minister.

The blaze began Wednesday in the Gotthard Tunnel when a northbound truck lost control about one mile inside, and crashed into an oncoming truck carrying tires which then caught fire and sent out poisonous fumes.

A bus full of passengers managed to back out of the tunnel, as did about 15 trucks. About 100 cars turned around and left the two-lane tunnel. Other people escaped through a foot tunnel.

By Thursday, firefighters managed to reduce temperatures that had soared above 1,800 degrees and caused part of the tunnel's roof to collapse.

Penetrating to the heart of the disaster zone, firefighters reported seeing 15 trapped vehicles, many of them emptied of occupants who had either managed to escape or died while seeking safety.

Four of the dead were German. Switzerland, Luxembourg, Italy and France each claimed one victim. The nationalities of the three others were not immediately known.

Most of the victims died of suffocation, either in their vehicles or during their desperate attempts to reach safety.

At the tunnel, a silent stream of hearses replaced the normal roar of vehicles. Each year, more than 1.2 million truckers and millions more vacationers pass through the tunnel, which links northern and southern Europe.