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00:00The Alps
00:02Europe's majestic wonderland
00:04Yet deep inside
00:06lies one of the world's longest road tunnels
00:08Daily it carries
00:10thousands of motorists in safety
00:12Until
00:14an ordinary lorry
00:16explodes into flames
00:18The tunnel
00:20turns into a terrifying death trap
00:22in just 14 minutes
00:24Now with cutting edge computer technology
00:26we reveal exactly
00:28what went wrong
00:32Disasters don't just happen
00:34They're a chain of critical events
00:36Unravel those
00:38faithful decisions in the final
00:40seconds from disaster
00:48Europe
00:50France
00:52Mont Blanc
00:54March 24th
00:561999
00:5810.30 am
01:00The world's deepest tunnel
01:02cut through solid rock
01:04lies 2478 meters beneath Mont Blanc
01:06Europe's highest mountain
01:08It's a vital road link between France and Italy
01:10One favoured by truck drivers
01:12especially as it shortens their journey time
01:14from seven hours to 15 minutes
01:16and saves a climb through winding mountain roads
01:18More than 5,000 vehicles use the tunnel every day
01:24including tourists, locals
01:26and lorries
01:28It's a fine spring morning as British trucker John Whitby heads for the toll on the Italian side
01:44As you come up through the mountains towards the tunnel entrance
01:48As you come up through the mountains towards the tunnel entrance
01:50it's very picturesque
01:52and then there's a little black hole in the side of the mountain
01:54Prior to this particular day
01:56I've always been quite happy to go through the tunnels
02:00Some use the tunnel for pleasure
02:04Extreme skier Nicolas Borghi
02:06Extreme skier Nicolas Borghi
02:08is heading from his home in Italy
02:10to the ski slopes of France
02:12That day the snow conditions were perfect
02:16It is my passion to ski off piste
02:22We packed our ski boots and all our other gear in the car
02:26and drove towards the tunnel
02:32When we got there, we paid our tolls
02:34and entered the tunnel as we'd done a thousand times before
02:46Normally, it takes Borghi 15 minutes to drive through the tunnel
02:50Today's journey would be different
02:52We invite you to comply with the safety regulations
02:54Indicated on the information brochure
03:02Surely it's always dangerous to cross a tunnel
03:04but nothing had ever happened before
03:10And we wish you a pleasant trip
03:14As Borghi and Whitby drive through the tunnel
03:16from Italy to France
03:18Two independent control rooms monitor their progress
03:20One on the Italian side
03:22And one on the French side
03:24And one on the French side
03:28Up until now, it's just another day in the tunnel
03:34A tunnel that has carried more than 45 million vehicles
03:40since it opened in 1965
03:42A remarkable feat of engineering
03:44It took four years to blast through the solid rocks in the Alps
03:46It took four years to blast through the solid rocks in the Alps
03:48To create one of the longest road tunnels in the world
03:50And one of the safest
03:52Eighteen fire refugees are spaced every 600 meters throughout the tunnel
04:02There are 77 emergency telephones
04:04With a dedicated rescue team at the French end
04:06And volunteer rescuers at the Italian end
04:08Until the 24th of March 1999
04:12Until the 24th of March 1999
04:14It's free of major incidents
04:16The teams have dealt with all previous lorry fires
04:20Without major casualties
04:22But all this is about to change
04:2410.46 a.m.
04:34A 40-ton refrigerated lorry arrives at the toll booth on the French side of the tunnel
04:38Just one of the 2,000 lorries that use the tunnel every day
04:42Behind the wheel is Gilbert de Grave
04:44A 57-year-old Belgian driver
04:46With 25 years experience
04:5210.47
04:54He enters the tunnel
04:56And reaches 60 kilometers per hour
04:58His refrigerated Volvo lorry is carrying an everyday load
05:16Nine tons of margarine and 12 tons of flour
05:20Destined for a food factory in Milan
05:22Other lorries and cars enter the tunnel behind him
05:30As always, 40 closed-circuit TV cameras monitor the progress of all vehicles
05:3810.49
05:42De Grave's lorry has been in the tunnel for 2 minutes
05:46But neither he nor the closed-circuit TV cameras
05:50Can yet pick up the first signs of trouble
05:52White smoke is escaping from behind his cab
05:58De Grave's lorry is now more than 2,400 meters underground
06:02And over 2 kilometers into the tunnel
06:04Unaware of the smoke
06:08He continues on his journey
06:1010.50
06:12The smoke increases
06:16De Grave is nearing the middle of the tunnel
06:22Nine sensors run the length of the tunnel
06:28They feed information on the visibility
06:30To control rooms at either end
06:32When visibility is reduced by 30%
06:34It triggers an alarm
06:36But the smoke billowing from De Grave's lorry
06:40Is not that dense yet
06:42At last, De Grave does notice
06:46I looked at my side mirrors
06:48I saw some smoke at the right side
06:50But not much
06:52So I drove on normally
06:54It's 10.51
06:56It's 10.51
06:58De Grave is 5 kilometers
07:00Into the Frank side
07:02And the situation is now far from normal
07:04Oncoming cars and lorries
07:06Can clearly see smoke from behind the cab
07:08It passes under the trailer
07:10And swirls up towards the roof of the tunnel
07:12More and more drivers realize something is seriously wrong
07:16They try to get De Grave's attention
07:1810.52
07:22Now the smoke is dense enough to trigger the tunnel sensors
07:28These raise an alarm in the French control room
07:32But not the Italian one
07:34As it's been turned off because of a false alarm the previous day
07:38False alarms are not uncommon
07:40At this stage only the French tunnel operator hears the alarm
07:44But doesn't know its cause
07:50Meanwhile the entrance tolls to the tunnel remain open
07:53Vehicles continue to enter from both ends
08:02Finally, Gilbert De Grave can ignore the smoke no longer
08:08As I drive the smoke is increasing
08:12I put on my hazard lights to warn the people behind and avoid an accident
08:20It's 10.53
08:22He brings his lorry to a halt
08:24He's 6 kilometers in
08:26The halfway point of the Montblanc tunnel
08:28I stopped slowly
08:30I got out of the truck and the smoke was much more noticeable
08:32A cube quickly forms behind him
08:40I tried to grab hold of the extinguisher but I didn't have time because the whole cabin was in flames
08:44Suddenly it explodes
08:46To grab abandons his lorry and runs towards Italy
08:52Driving towards him on the other side of the road
08:56Is the Italian skier Nicolas Borghi
09:04I was halfway through the tunnel when I saw a glow far away
09:08Then when I was 20 meters away I saw a massive flame
09:14And the truck driver running away
09:20The queue behind De Grave's lorry is growing
09:2238 men and women are stuck in their vehicles
09:24None of them can see the danger ahead
09:28But John Whitby
09:30Who's coming from the opposite direction
09:32Can
09:34We looked down the tunnel
09:36And couldn't see anything but blackness
09:38But what we didn't know at that point
09:40Was that blackness was actually thick smoke
09:42And that thick smoke
09:46And that thick smoke
09:48Is rapidly enveloping the vehicles
09:50Stuck behind De Grave's lorry
09:52Within seconds
09:54The road tunnel will turn
09:56Into a raging inferno
10:08A lorry travelling from France to Italy
10:10In the Mont Blanc tunnel
10:12Stops and erupts into flames
10:14A line of vehicles comes to a halt behind it
10:20Alarms trigger in the tunnel's control rooms
10:22But operators do not yet realize
10:24The seriousness of the situation
10:26And continue to allow vehicles
10:28To enter the tunnel from its two entrances
10:30In France and Italy
10:3810.54
10:39The lorry's been on fire for one minute
10:41Someone in the tunnel sees the smoke
10:43And uses the emergency phone at Refuge 22
10:45300 meters from the lorry
10:47To raise the alarm
10:49It rings through to the Italian control room
10:51The operator there gets his first direct information
10:55That there's a serious problem
10:57Immediately the Italian and French controllers speak to each other
11:01Now they can clearly see the smoke
11:07On their monitors
11:09But they can't see the lorry
11:11It's hidden by the smoke
11:13Realizing the danger
11:15They close the tunnel to new vehicles at both sides
11:19But for the 25 vehicles and 38 people
11:29Who've already followed de Graaf's lorry into the tunnel
11:31It's too late
11:33They're either driving towards the lorry
11:35They're either driving towards the lorry
11:37Or they're already stuck behind it
11:3910.56
11:49By now thick black smoke is moving over the first of the vehicles
11:55Trapped behind the lorry back towards France
11:57But ahead of the flaming lorry towards Italy
12:01The smoke is spreading more slowly
12:03Drivers coming from that direction include Nicolas Borghi
12:07I myself in the cars behind me
12:13Were able to reverse until we reached a lay-by
12:15Where we could do a U-turn and head towards the exit
12:19In the Italian control room
12:31An operator sees the fleeing vehicles
12:33And pumps fresh air in towards them
12:35But this increased airflow
12:39Moves through the tunnel towards the fire
12:41And onto France
12:43When air hits fire
12:45It's a problem
12:47Like Borghi, John Whitby is also trying to escape
12:59He stops 300 meters from the inferno
13:05But the tunnel is too narrow for his lorry to turn
13:11He has no choice but to abandon it
13:15As he does, he looks back on the trapped vehicles
13:17There must have been a lot of people that just did not stand a chance at all
13:23It must have been absolutely horrifying for them
13:27As Whitby makes his escape
13:31The fire is burning fiercely
13:33Producing more and more thick black smoke
13:351057
13:41The fire has been raging for just four minutes
13:43Yet the killer smoke has already covered almost half a kilometer
13:47On its way towards France
13:53The alarm reaches the tunnels rescue team
13:55Stationed at the French entrance
13:57A four-man team prepares to go in
13:591058
14:05The wall of smoke from the epicenter of the fire
14:07Obscures the view of the closed-circuit TV cameras
14:09And as the French rescue team enter the tunnel
14:15They don't know that 38 people
14:17Are stuck in their vehicles behind the lorry
14:19For the drivers, the situation is horrific
14:23The visibility is reduced to half a meter
14:27Panicked, some try to drive away
14:29But the lack of oxygen kills their engines
14:33And their only means of escape
14:35In desperation, some try to get to refuges
14:37Specially designed fireproof rooms
14:41Located every 600 meters
14:43But their quest is futile
14:45It's a living nightmare
14:49Most of those trapped
14:51are trapped
14:53They are trapped
14:55They are trapped
14:57They are trapped
14:59But the lack of oxygen kills their engines
15:01And their only means of escape
15:03In desperation
15:05Most of those trapped
15:07Are unconscious within minutes
15:15It's now 11 o'clock
15:21As the scale of the catastrophe grows
15:23Firefighters from the French town of Chamonix
15:25Scramble to enter the tunnel
15:27But they manage to travel less than 4 kilometers
15:33Before their vehicle is engulfed
15:35By the wall of smoke
15:37Unable to turn it around
15:39They are forced to abandon it
15:41And seek shelter in a maintenance room
15:43Where they will remain for 5 hours
15:45Still no emergency services managed to reach the center of the blaze
15:59Now the first rescuers enter from the Italian side
16:03Where the smoke is spreading more slowly
16:05John Whitby is still by his lorry
16:07When he sees them
16:09The wail of sirens came down the tube
16:13And they screamed past us
16:15Down into the darkness ahead
16:17And they were sort of swallowed up by the smoke actually
16:21The Italian volunteer rescuers get within 300 meters
16:25But one patrolman gets within 10 meters of the lorry
16:29Before a new danger forces them all to turn back
16:33There were 6 explosions in rapid succession
16:36Which were just bang bang bang bang bang
16:39Very quick
16:40And they were very powerful explosions
16:43Tyres from the vehicles explode
16:45They send deadly shrapnel flying
16:54The tunnel walls shook with the force of the explosion
16:57Within a minute or two of that happening
17:01The fire brigade were back
17:02As they retreat
17:07The Italians rescue John Whitby
17:09And other drivers
17:10Among them is Gilbert de Grave
17:12The driver of the lorry that starts the inferno
17:15They exit the tunnel on the Italian side
17:19They've all made a miraculous escape
17:25It's 11-11
17:28Italian firefighters enter the tunnel to try to tackle the blaze
17:37Leading them is fire chief Dionichi Glari
17:50We could see in the distance a wall of smoke that we tried to penetrate with our vehicle
17:56But again the smoke is too thick and Glari and his team are forced to retreat
18:03They seek shelter in refuge number 24, one of the tunnels fireproof rooms where they'll be safe for two hours
18:11But for these firefighters the drama isn't over
18:16They receive word about some colleagues who are trapped
18:21But where?
18:22Bravely Glari and his team leave the safety of refuge 24 and head out into the smoke to try to find them
18:32We were walking in the tunnel with one hand along the walls so as to find our way
18:41Reaching the next refuge we entered, looked around and found there was no one there
18:52The conditions worsen and after 10 minutes the firefighters are forced back to refuge 24
19:01To find to their disbelief that the smoke proof room now offers them little protection
19:08We saw smoke coming from the ventilation fence that should send clean air into the refuge
19:16With their breathing apparatus running on empty they're desperately short of air
19:22Outside the operation commander hatches a plan
19:25The trapped firefighters are told that beneath the road is a ventilation duct full of fresh air which may offer a means of escape
19:33The problem is finding the door without getting lost in the smoke
19:37To reach this doorway we had to use an electrical extension lead that we tied to the door of the refuge
19:45And then went to look for the doorway
19:50At the same time more Italian firefighters are sent in through the ventilation duct to try to open the door from below
20:01The moment they opened that door that was the moment I glimpsed a possibility of escape
20:07The rescuers become the rescued
20:13After 3 hours Glari and his team are able to escape through the ventilation duct
20:18But what they don't know is that 38 people are still trapped inside a tunnel where temperatures reach over 1000 degrees
20:301130
20:4037 minutes after the lorry erupts in flames
20:46The dense deadly smoke now stretches more than six kilometers
20:50Filling the tunnel all the way to the French exit
20:53Firefighters abandon all efforts to attack the flames
21:04Firefighters abandon all efforts to attack the flames
21:06No one in the tunnel has a chance of survival
21:11Such is the ferocity of the fire that it burns for 53 hours
21:23Only then can firefighters pick their way through the charred debris
21:29They are horrified to discover the remains of the 38 trapped people
21:34These pictures reveal the true extent of the horror
21:39Those who survive like Nicholas Borghi are astonished at the fire's ferocity
21:46More shocking is that the heat had melted the steel in the lorries
21:53You could only see the basis of the lorries
21:56The skeleton
21:57What could have happened to those poor people left in there?
22:02The disaster takes everyone by surprise
22:06How could such a catastrophe occur here?
22:09How could an ordinary lorry carrying an ordinary load of margarine and flour
22:14End up causing one of the worst road tunnel disasters on record?
22:19From the moment the lorry enters the tunnel
22:24It takes just 14 minutes for 38 people to perish
22:28Now we rewind the events of that fateful day
22:32And go deep into the investigation to reveal what really happened
22:42Advanced computer simulation will take us where no camera can go
22:46Into the heart of the disaster zone
22:49A team of experts is assembled to investigate the fire
22:54Using their data we can piece together the deadly chain of events
22:58To find out what caused this terrible tragedy
23:01The first mystery facing the experts is what starts the fire in the lorry
23:08They trace the lorry's journey on its approach to the tunnel
23:13This is where problems could first occur
23:18Lorries frequently overheat on the long climb up to the tunnel entrance
23:23Investigators examine the remains of the Volvo lorry
23:29Is there a fault with the FH-12 engine?
23:33After intensive tests they find no conclusive evidence of overheating
23:38Then a breakthrough
23:42The investigators find particles inside the engine
23:48That can only have got there if the air filter had burnt before the main fire
23:53But how could the air filter have burnt first?
23:58One theory is that a casually discarded cigarette from a passing vehicle
24:03Enters the lorry's air filter on top of the cabin
24:06The cigarette travels down to the filter which catches fire
24:12Particles then enter the engine causing that to catch fire and thus starting the blaze
24:19It's a strong possibility
24:24Investigators then carry out an experiment on a similar lorry in similar conditions
24:31Although not conclusive, it proves a cigarette butt entering the air filter could cause a fire
24:37But that in itself is not enough to cause a tragedy on the scale of the Mont Blanc tunnel fire
24:43So how did this small fire turn into a raging inferno?
24:48Deep in the Mont Blanc tunnel a mine of fire suddenly goes out of control
25:01In 14 minutes 38 people perish
25:04Using advanced computer graphics based on the official reports
25:11We go deep into the investigation to unravel the chain of deadly events
25:16Investigators believe it starts with a small fire smouldering in the engine beneath the cab
25:2314 minutes from disaster, De Grave enters the tunnel
25:33But the fire only erupts after he stops and abandons his vehicle
25:37Could the movement of air prevent the fire taking hold?
25:42Experts know that lorry fires can develop more quickly when vehicles slow down or stop
25:47Because then the supply of oxygen increases which feeds the fire
25:52Ed Gilear is a fire expert
25:55There was a recent example where a bus had caught fire in an alpine tunnel
26:00And the bus driver continued driving, managed to get the vehicle through the tunnel to the other side
26:06Managed to evacuate the vehicle and then the bus erupted into flames
26:10Perhaps if De Grave had continued driving, he could have made it to the end of the tunnel before the fire flared up
26:21But he didn't
26:24Seven minutes from disaster he stops halfway through the tunnel
26:29Almost immediately the lorry bursts into flames
26:36But why did it spread so quickly?
26:38Underneath the refrigerated trailer, just meters from the flames, are the lorry's diesel tanks
26:44Investigators realize that in previous lorry fires, diesel is a contributing factor
26:51Did diesel from De Grave's lorry fuel the fire?
26:57Did diesel from De Grave's lorry fuel the fire?
26:59Didier Lacroix has studied hundreds of fires and knows where to look
27:04The difference between this fire and the seventeen fires that had occurred before
27:15Was that it started very quickly
27:19It spread to 34 vehicles
27:22But Lacroix discovers that De Grave's lorry is only carrying five hundred and fifty litres of diesel
27:32His tank is only half full
27:33It can't explain the rapid spread of the fire
27:36Lacroix digs deeper
27:38He re-examines every second of the lorry's journey from the moment it enters the tunnel
27:45His team turn their attention to the contents of the refrigerated trailer
27:58It's only carrying nine tons of margarine and twelve tons of flour, a seemingly harmless load
28:04They're not even classified as dangerous goods
28:07But with little else to go on, they begin to experiment with the cargo
28:13One of the things we discovered was that goods that are not classified officially as dangerous
28:26Can lead to a very serious fire
28:36Here a simple demonstration shows how one ton of margarine simulates the cargo
28:40It's wrapped in polystyrene sheets
28:43The same insulation material lining the refrigerated trailer
28:47After just two minutes, it proves to be a highly combustible combination
28:54In refrigerated bands, you have polyurethane
28:59And when this burns, it produces a lot of heated burns
29:05It can burn very rapidly
29:06When the margarine melts due to the fire, it's an oil-based material
29:12And it will also rapidly burn, producing quite a lot of heat
29:16Margarine has a very high energy content
29:19Incredibly, when it's melted, it's almost as dangerous as petrol
29:22Our experiment shows how dangerous things can be in the open air
29:26But fire experts know that in the confines of tunnels, fires burn much more intensely
29:30Because there are limited outlets for the heat to escape
29:34To find out more, this research facility is conducting large-scale fire tests
29:41In a disused road tunnel in Norway
29:43Simulated trailers with various loads are set alight
29:49The purpose of the tests is to investigate the heat generated by lorries carrying typical loads
29:54Such as packing crates and furniture
29:57These experiments produce the world's highest heat release rating ever recorded in a tunnel fire test
30:03But is margarine even more flammable?
30:06The Montblanc team calculates that the burning load of margarine may have created an even higher heat rating
30:12The intensity of the fire on March 24, 1999 takes everyone by surprise
30:18Including Montblanc tunnel expert, Jean Martinetti
30:22The fire reached between a thousand and twelve hundred degrees
30:26Nothing could withstand it
30:28Everything melted, the ground, the concrete, the structure
30:31It was completely unthinkable, a real crematorium
30:34Investigators are shocked that such a simple cargo of margarine and flour, not classified as dangerous, can produce a fire almost as powerful as a 30,000 litre petrol tanker
30:50But 14 other lorries are stuck in an 800 meter queue behind the first burning lorry
31:01Could these have contributed to the fire?
31:04The second truck was also carrying margarine
31:10There were two trucks carrying large quantities of polyethylene
31:15The combined fire power of these lorries burning together
31:18Takes the inferno to another unimaginable level of horror
31:22For the 38 people trapped in the tunnel
31:25The vehicles that were involved in the fire
31:28Had the energy content equivalent of about five to seven petal tankers full of fuel
31:37But for these vehicles to contribute to the inferno
31:40The fire first had to spread to them
31:43So how did that happen?
31:45Three explanations emerge
31:46First, the burning truck radiates heat
31:52And generates hot gases that in the confines of a tunnel
31:55Can ignite vehicles a great distance from the fire
31:58Another way is that the vehicle that's on fire is leaking fuel
32:05And it runs along the length of the tunnel
32:07Yet another way is if the fire is very intense, the road surface itself catches fire
32:17And then that will ignite the other vehicles in the tunnel
32:22Investigators are not able to prove which of the three methods causes the fire to spread
32:28But they do make another discovery
32:30Fire is not the real killer
32:31We found out later that people died in the cars before they could even open the doors and get out
32:46So if fire is not the killer, what is?
32:50So if fire is not the killer, what is?
32:53A smouldering lorry enters the Mont Blanc tunnel
33:07The driver stops and suddenly his truck explodes into flames
33:14Investigators know that the driver manages to escape the inferno by running towards Italy
33:24But 38 motorists behind his lorry back towards France perish
33:32Why?
33:41Investigators focus on the smoke given off by the fire
33:45Without realising it, John Whitby is a witness to this deadly wall of smoke
33:49All we could see ahead was blackness about 200 metres from where we were stopped
33:56It was just completely dark
33:59We presumed that it was just lack of lighting
34:03But it actually turned out to be the smoke from the fire
34:07Seven minutes from disaster
34:10Data gathered from the sensors in the tunnel revealed that in these minutes
34:14Smoke travels 800 metres over the 25 gridlocked vehicles
34:17The smoke travels at 4.5 metres per second
34:21That's more than 16 kilometres per hour
34:24Creating a sudden loss of visibility down to half a metre
34:27It means the trapped drivers have only seconds to decide whether to try to reach safety of a refuge
34:33Or remain in their vehicles
34:35People probably believe that they're safe in their vehicle
34:39That the smoke is not going to be too much of a problem
34:42That the fire will be brought under control and they might as well stay in their car
34:45Four minutes to go
34:56In the middle of the smoke, four cars do attempt to turn round
35:00The tunnel is wide enough
35:04So why don't they make it?
35:05Experts know that car engines need oxygen to work
35:12The fire is consuming the oxygen and replacing it with carbon monoxide
35:20Starved of oxygen, the vehicles engines splutter and die
35:24There's no way out
35:25The fate for those who abandon their vehicles is equally bleak
35:31They're overcome by smoke and other toxic gases before they reach the safe areas
35:35Analysis of the scene reveals that the smoke contains cyanide, a gas that no one can survive
35:48The smoke fills the French half of the tunnel so rapidly that none of the 38 trapped people stands a chance
35:57It's impossible for even the fittest individual to outrun
36:02Fourteen minutes after the lorry enters the tunnel, everyone in the tail bag behind the truck has perished
36:07Fourteen minutes after the lorry enters the tunnel, everyone in the tail bag behind the truck has perished
36:26Investigators now turn their attention to why the deadly smoke moves towards France
36:31Normally air flow in the tunnel is the other way, towards Italy
36:36They discover that weather conditions play a key role
36:40The day of the fire, there were rather unusual weather conditions
36:45That happened maybe 20 days a year
36:49With a wind going from Italy to France
36:54And this air flow clearly brought smoke towards France
36:58But Lacroix is not convinced this is the only cause
37:05He knows the tunnel operators can also dramatically affect the air flow
37:09Using the tunnel's ventilation system
37:12Gigantic fans in plant rooms at both ends enable the operators to supply or extract air through ducts running beneath the road
37:22Normal operation requires ducts to supply air
37:26But in the event of fire, duct 5 is supposed to be set to remove the smoke
37:32Did operators carry out the correct emergency procedure?
37:36John Martinetti has studied the official reports and knows the tunnel inside out
37:40He's shocked by what he learns
37:42When the fire occurred, on the Italian side, according to the reports, the Italian operator blew fresh air in, instead of extracting it
37:52The Italian tunnel operator sees motorists attempting to turn around
38:03To aid their escape, he adjusts the ventilation settings and pumps in fresh air
38:13The disruption of normal air flow plays a major role in the disaster
38:17Although the air blown in from Italy undoubtedly saves some lives, including John Whitby's
38:23I realized how lucky I was
38:3790% of the time
38:39The smoke would have come the other way to Italy
38:42And I wouldn't be here now
38:44But the air being pumped in from Italy moves the smoke towards France at a terrifying speed
38:51After enveloping the vehicles trapped behind the burning lorry
38:55The smoke accelerates, now moving at 6 meters per second
38:59On the French side, the whole French half of the tunnel was filled with smoke in little over half an hour
39:06Approaching the fire was now impossible from either end of the tunnel
39:16And all rescue attempts are called off
39:21But a startling discovery is about to be made
39:31A fire in the Mont Blanc tunnel between France and Italy becomes one of the worst road tunnel fires ever
39:44A critical chain of events causes the disaster
39:48And now investigators find the final link to that chain
39:55Throughout the whole rescue, none of the emergency teams or tunnel operators were aware of the 38 trapped motorists
40:05The closed circuit TV cameras were so quickly blocked by the smoke
40:09It was impossible for the tunnel operators to see them
40:12Information is limited
40:14Emergency telephones only work intermittently
40:17And sensors that detected smoke were not adequate
40:21In fact, one was even turned off the day before the fire
40:23Worse still, there was no communication between the French and Italian rescuers
40:29Even firefighters become trapped
40:32It was a totally uncoordinated effort
40:36Tackling a fire of this severity seems to take everyone by surprise
40:40One of the serious problems we discovered during the investigation
40:45Was that over 34 years of operation
40:51There had only been one fire drill that had invoked public fire brigades
40:57It might explain why it's more than three hours after the fire begins
41:01That the last of the trapped Italian firefighters, Glari and his team
41:05Are brought out through the underground ventilation ducts
41:07They were absolutely black
41:10You couldn't see the colour of the helmets, the uniforms, you couldn't see the colour of the fire engines
41:17Everything that came out of that tunnel was black
41:20It was a horrible, horrible sight really
41:25The inferno rages for 53 hours before it's extinguished
41:29I really hope that something is done to improve the safety of these tunnels
41:43The disaster triggered an overhaul of safety procedures in the Mont Blanc tunnel
41:49Today, maximum speed limits and minimum distances between vehicles are strictly enforced
42:00Seventeen previous fires in the tunnel were caused by lorries
42:04But now, sophisticated thermal sensors at each entrance scan all lorries
42:09To detect dangerous heat emissions before they enter the tunnel
42:12The tunnel operators have gone a long way to correct the mistakes
42:23Many changes have been made regarding safety in the Mont Blanc tunnel
42:31Probably one of the most important things
42:35Is that now there is only one operator
42:38And using one single control centre
42:43They stage regular fire and evacuation drills
42:48The refuges are now pressurised
42:54And fitted with a video link to the control room
42:57Staircases now connect them directly to evacuation
43:01Channels below the road
43:02There is now a firefighting team permanently based in the centre of the tunnel
43:20And fire trucks are equipped with heat-seeking systems
43:26So that they can locate people in zero visibility
43:29March 24, 1999
43:33March 24, 1999
43:36Provided clues that may save lives in the future
43:39But it's small consolation for relatives of the people who died in the tunnel
43:44Including one firefighter who died from his injuries later
43:49Xavier Chantillon will never be the same
43:54I lost my mother-in-law, her daughter, my wife's sister, and also her fiancé
44:04They had all been staying with us on holiday
44:09For relatives of the victims, like Xavier, there are still many unanswered questions
44:14Regarding the final moments of those loved ones lost inside the tunnel
44:24We still do not know for sure how they died
44:28I'm sure I don't need to describe the horrific images I have in my head
44:32People running about on fire or collapsing, trying to get out
44:36You think of everything
44:39The Mont Blanc tunnel fire and its critical chain of events
44:43Reveals the dangers of deep road tunnels
44:47On that day, a white Volvo truck enters the tunnel
44:53A small fire under the cab gives off a stream of white smoke
45:00The lorry stops
45:03More air reaches the fire, causing it to erupt
45:07The ordinary cargo of margarine turns deadly
45:13Creating a fire with the same potential as a 30,000 litre fuel tanker
45:17The unusual weather conditions and incorrect use of the tunnel's ventilation system
45:29Creates a wall of smoke that quickly envelops 38 trapped motorists
45:33Leaving them no chance of survival
45:38But was this critical chain of events unique?
45:40Unique
45:45I think there will be another fire in the Mont Blanc tunnel
45:49Tomorrow, in six months, a year
45:52But the emergency services are better adapted today
45:56Than they were at the time of the disaster
45:58But there will be another fire
46:01There will be another fire
46:03Is another Mont Blanc disaster possible somewhere in the world?
46:08Yes it is
46:11And it's perhaps only a matter of time
46:14But until it happens, millions of vehicles continue to travel through road traffic tunnels every day
46:24In safety
46:25In safety
46:27In safety
46:29In safety
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