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Volvo faces death charge
Page 8
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French prosecutors say a Volvo design fault killed 39 people in the Mont Blanc tunnel fire — Volvo disagrees. David Harris reports
VOLVO IS appearing before a French court to answer manslaughter charges following the Mont Blanc tunnel fire which killed 39 people in 1999.The Swedish company and 15 other defend ants are accused of offences including "manslaughter through clumsiness, imprudence, carelessness or negligence".
Prosecutors in the trial, in the Alpine town of Bonneville, claim the deadly fire was caused by a lit cigarette stub that was sucked into the truck's air vent — something that had caused other Volvos to catch fire.
The company refutes this by
arguing that the fire was caused by an accidental oil leakage,the cause of which was unknown.
Lars Lidman, executive vicepresident and general counsel for Volvo, told the court: It is our opinion that the theory of the cigarette butt is completely inconsistent with recorded facts and that an air filter fire as the cause of this accident is impossible."
During the trial Volvo technician Olof Hagglund argued that changes to the F12 trucks introduced after the tunnel fire had nothing to do with the accident, but were part of the company's usual quality and safety improvement measures.
It was even suggested in court that Volvo had withheld information from investigating experts — another allegation that the manufacturer vigorously denied.
The trial continues.