MODANE, France (AP) -- An Alpine tunnel linking France and Italy will remain shut indefinitely, French authorities said Sunday, a day after trucks caught fire inside, killing two people. The Italian transport minister said security in the tunnel would be boosted following the accident.
France's national highway information center said the 13-kilometer (8-mile) Frejus tunnel had been shut ''for an indeterminate time'' after a truck carrying tires burst into flames that engulfed at least three other vehicles Saturday.
Two Slovenian truck drivers, aged in their early 20s, died in the blaze, French police said.
Italian Transport Minister Pietro Lunardi met with his French counterpart, Dominique Perben, at the scene and praised the work of emergency crews, saying coordination between the Italian and French firefighters had been ''great.''
The fire revived memories of a 1999 inferno in the nearby Mont Blanc tunnel that left 39 people dead. That fire burned for two days while firefighters tried to reach the trapped cars.
''This accident will help to improve the level of security,'' Lunardi told Sky TG24 news. He said security had been increased in the Frejus tunnel after the Mont Blanc tunnel fire, but ''it can be increased'' further.
French television showed pictures of blackened, soot-coated shells of two tractor-trailers in the tunnel. Rescue workers told France-2 TV that temperatures had risen so high that the road's tar had melted under their feet as they battled the blaze on Saturday.
The Frejus tunnel is a major thoroughfare linking the French city of Lyon with Turin, Italy, accounting for four-fifths of commercial roadway traffic between the countries.
Most of the truck traffic _ about 3,800 trucks per day on average _ was likely to be rerouted through the Mont Blanc tunnel, requiring a 200-kilometer (124 mile) detour.
French authorities said it was too early to tell whether the tunnel would remain shut down through the Winter Olympics in Turin next February, but Lunardi was hopeful it would reopen soon.
''The closure time for Frejus won't be excessively long,'' said Lunardi, according to ANSA news agency. ''From what they've told me, the damage isn't as serious as had been thought at first.''
