By Heather Smith, American Lawyer
On March 24, 1999, a Volvo truck carrying flour and margarine from Belgium to Italy entered the tunnel through France’s Mont Blanc, Europe’s highest mountain. Though no one can say precisely what happened next, one French investigation found that a lit cigarette butt may have bounced into the truck’s air intake, setting off a chain reaction that ignited the engine. The resulting inferno burned for 53 hours, reaching almost 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit-hot enough to melt the interior of the tunnel and incinerate three dozen vehicles trapped there. Thirty-nine people died in the fire, and the tunnel closed for three years for extensive repairs.
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