A car caught fire inside the Violay tunnel, this Friday, October 28, shortly after eight o’clock in the morning. The tunnel, which connects the Loire to the Rhône by the A89, is closed to traffic in both directions this morning.
Firefighters were called at 8:20 a.m. for a “reflex departure:” 38 firefighters from the Loire, and an equivalent cohort from the Rhône are mobilized. Heavy preventive means to prevent the fire from spreading. Fortunately, SDIS 42 tells us, the ventilation installed in the tunnel prevented the spread of excessive smoke inside.
The fire took on the direction of traffic from the Rhône to the Loire, but the difficult circumstances of intervention forced the firefighters to close the tunnel in both directions of traffic.
Several people involved in the fire would have taken refuge in the airlocks provided for this purpose, inside the tunnel. Firefighters are taking care of them.