At the end of July, a French judge found 13 defendents guilty in connection with the Mont Blanc tunnel fire that killed 39 people (T&TI, February, p14).
Following a three-month trial, the judge handed out sentences ranging from fines and short or suspended prison terms to nine people, most of whom were convicted of manslaughter, as well as fining four companies for their role in the tragic road tunnel blaze. Gérard Roncoli, head of security for the French tunnel operators, received the heaviest sentence of six months in jail, with a further 24 months suspended sentence. The three companies that operate the tunnel were all fined Eur150,000 (US$185,562).
A 4.5 year investigation into the causes of the fire had preceded the trial. The trial raised questions about the tunnel’s installed equipment, incompatible radio frequencies between rescuers and how a vent duct may have caused the flames to have been fanned rather than extracting smoke and fumes.
