Lorries return to Mont Blanc tunnel

The Mont Blac tunnel has been closed to traffic since the fire in 1999

CHAMONIX, France -- The Mont Blanc tunnel in the Alps has reopened to small lorries and buses for the first time since 39 people were killed in a fire three years ago.

Large vehicles weighing less than 19 tons were admitted in the12-kilometre (7.4 mile) tunnel, which links France and Italy, on Monday.

The access follows that granted to cars last month.

Tractor-trailers and vehicles with more than four axles are to be given access to the tunnel from June.

The exception will be vehicles carrying dangerous cargos, France's Transportation Ministry said in a statement on Friday.

The decision to reopen the tunnel caused conflict between the French and Italian governments and environmental groups who said trucks were dangerous and caused too much pollution.

The Italian government pushed for an immediate opening to trucks, which were heavy users of the tunnel and a vital economic link to Europe, while France suggested a more gradual reopening.

Officials originally hoped to reopen the Mont Blanc tunnel by last summer, but the date was repeatedly pushed back because of safety concerns.

In March 1999, 39 people were killed when a lorry carrying flour and margarine caught fire.

It took firefighters two days to bring the blaze under control.

When the tunnel reopened to cars on March 9, up to 1,000 demonstrators, members of resident and ecology groups, gathered outside each end of the tunnel.