Comments by "" (@CricketEngland) on "BBC Archive"
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In Grenoble, France, 16 people and companies were tried on 31 January 2005 for manslaughter. Defendants in the trial included:
Gilbert Degrave, the Belgian driver of the truck that caught fire in the tunnel
Volvo, the truck's manufacturer
The French and Italian managers of the tunnel
ATMB and SITM Safety regulators
The Mayor of Chamonix
A senior official of the French Ministry of Public Works
The exact cause of the fire is disputed. One account reported it to be a cigarette stub carelessly thrown at the truck, which supposedly entered the engine induction snorkel above the cabin, setting the paper air filter on fire. Others blamed a mechanical or electrical fault, or poor maintenance of the truck's engine. An investigation found no evidence of a design fault with the truck. The closest smoke detector was out of order, and French emergency services did not use the same radio frequency as those inside the tunnel.
The Italian company responsible for operating the tunnel, SITMB, paid €13.5 million ($17.5 million US) to a fund for the families of the victims. Édouard Balladur, former president of the French company operating the tunnel (from 1968 to 1980), and later Prime Minister of France, underwent a witness examination. He was asked about the security measures that he ordered, or did not order, to be carried out.
Balladur claimed that the catastrophe could be attributed to the fact the tunnel had been divided into two sections operated by two companies (one in France, the other in Italy), which failed to coordinate the situation. On 27 July 2005, thirteen defendants were found guilty, and received sentences ranging from fines to suspended prison sentences to six months in jail:
Gérard Roncoli, the head of security at the tunnel, was convicted and sentenced to six months in jail plus an additional two-year suspended sentence, the heaviest sentence levied against any of the defendants. The sentence was upheld on appeal.
Remy Chardon, former president of the French company operating the tunnel, was convicted and received a two-year suspended jail term; he was also fined approximately US$18,000.
Gilbert Degrave, the driver of the truck, received a four-month suspended sentence.
Seven other people, including the tunnel's Italian security chief, received suspended terms and fines.
Three companies were fined up to US$180,000 each.
The charges against Volvo were dropped.
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