Switzerland: Longest Traffic Jam in 19 Years

A train stands at the multifunction and emergency stop station of the NEAT Gotthard Base Tunnel, the world's longest train tunnel, during a media visit near the town of Sedrun, Switzerland. Reuters
A train stands at the multifunction and emergency stop station of the NEAT Gotthard Base Tunnel, the world's longest train tunnel, during a media visit near the town of Sedrun, Switzerland. Reuters
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Switzerland: Longest Traffic Jam in 19 Years

A train stands at the multifunction and emergency stop station of the NEAT Gotthard Base Tunnel, the world's longest train tunnel, during a media visit near the town of Sedrun, Switzerland. Reuters
A train stands at the multifunction and emergency stop station of the NEAT Gotthard Base Tunnel, the world's longest train tunnel, during a media visit near the town of Sedrun, Switzerland. Reuters

A fire on a German tourist bus in an Alpine tunnel in Switzerland has caused the country's longest vehicle traffic jam in 19 years.

The San Bernardino tunnel has remained closed since Friday, the transport club TCS said.

Passengers avoided passage in the tunnel, where the traffic jam extended to 28 kilometers, a record length that has not been seen since 1999. The afternoon car line reached more than 20 kilometers.

The tunnel would remain closed for a week due to repairs, a spokesman said.

The bus from the German state of Bavaria went on fire, and all 20 passengers, the bus driver and the trip escort were moved to a safe place. Two people suffered minor poisoning due to smoke inhalation.

The tunnel links eastern Switzerland with the southern side of the Alps.



Forest Fire Near Athens Under Control, But Area on High Alert

A firefighting airplane sprays water on a hill in Thymari, south of Athens, Thursday, June 26, 2025. (104 Fahrenheit). (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)
A firefighting airplane sprays water on a hill in Thymari, south of Athens, Thursday, June 26, 2025. (104 Fahrenheit). (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)
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Forest Fire Near Athens Under Control, But Area on High Alert

A firefighting airplane sprays water on a hill in Thymari, south of Athens, Thursday, June 26, 2025. (104 Fahrenheit). (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)
A firefighting airplane sprays water on a hill in Thymari, south of Athens, Thursday, June 26, 2025. (104 Fahrenheit). (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)

Greek firefighters said Friday that a forest blaze that had forced evacuations around Athens was under control, but warned that scorching temperatures were keeping fire risk at a highly elevated level around the capital and on northern Aegean islands.

Greece has become particularly vulnerable in recent years to fires in the summer fueled by strong winds, drought and high temperatures linked to climate change.

The fire around Athens broke on Thursday afternoon near the towns of Palaia Fokaia and Thymari, around 50 kilometers (30 miles) east of Athens, and forced the evacuation of five villages popular with local and foreign tourists, AFP reported.

Though it was under control on Friday, a volatile combination of high temperatures and strong winds meant that a high risk of other fires breaking out remained, especially in the Attica region around the Greek capital and some islands in the north Aegean Sea, authorities said.

A spokesman for the fire service told AFP that over 100 firefighters with 37 vehicles and a helicopter were on standby near Palaia Fokaia and Thymari.

Fields, olive groves and some houses were ravaged by the blaze.

The blaze came on the heels of another fire on the island of Chios -- Greece's fifth-largest island -- which had destroyed more than 4,000 hectares (10,000 acres) of land in four days.

Weather agencies forecast a heatwave in the coming days with temperatures of more than 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit), including in the capital Athens.