The Gotthard car tunnel in Switzerland is closed until further notice after pieces of rock fell from the ceiling onto the roadway. Report that local media Monday. No one was injured in the incident. It is not yet clear when the tunnel will open again.
At 16.9 kilometers, the tunnel is the fifth longest tunnel in the world, and connects the Swiss Plateau with the south of the country. Now that this route is closed, motorists are forced to drive via the winding Gotthard Pass, or via the San Bernardino Tunnel, which is about two hours away.
In 2021, eleven people died due to an accident in the same tunnel. Two trucks collided, causing a fire to break out. The nearby Gotthard railway tunnel is also currently closed. A train derailed there in August. To date, it is unclear how this could have happened.