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Volvo escapes censure or blame for Mont Blanc fire
Page 14
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The French state prosecutor is not blaming Volvo for the Mont Blanc tunnel fire that caused 39 fatalities. Colin Barnett reports.
VOLVO SEEMS TO have been cleared of blame in the criminal trial following the 1999 Mont Blanc Tunnel fire which killed 39 people.
Although the French court has yet to give its formal decision, the state prosecutor recommended a not guilty verdict for the Swedish company.
Volvo is one of 16 defendants in the trial at Bonneville.Although it accepts that the fire started in the FH12 420, Volvo maintains it was due to an accidental oil leak. discounting the theory of an expert witness that it was due to a cigarette butt in the truck's air filter.
At the close of last Friday's hearing Volvo senior vice-president Lars Lidman said: "In respect and deepest sympathy towards the victims' families and close ones, we are pleased that many questions have finally been answered. We remain convinced that the fire was not started as a result of a design or manufacturing error in the Volvo truck," he said.
The fire closed the tunnel for three years.