Swiss Gotthard road tunnel closed after fatal crash

ZURICH (Reuters) - The Gotthard road tunnel under the Alps in Switzerland is closed after a truck and a passenger car collided, killing two people and damaging the key transit route, police said on Wednesday.

Police in the canton of Uri said four people were hurt in the head-on crash in the 10-mile (16.9-km) tunnel, a main north-south route for Europe.

It said the driver of a car with German number plates crossed the centre line for unknown reasons and collided with the truck around 09:15 local time (0815 GMT).

It said the tunnel would be closed for some time while crews repaired the damage.

In October 2001, a head-on collision in the tunnel between two trucks caused a massive fire, killing eleven and injuring many others.

(Reporting by Michael Shields; Editing by Matthew Mpoke Bigg)