GUDVANGEN, Norway, Aug. 5 (UPI) -- Smoke from a truck fire inside a miles-long highway tunnel in Norway Monday afternoon left 70 people hospitalized, officials said.
A tractor-trailer began burning 3.5 kilometers (2.2 miles) within the 11-kilometer (6.8-mile) Gudvanga Tunnel, Norway's second-largest tunnel, the Norwegian broadcasting corporation NRK reported.
The tunnel, through a mountain, connects the village of Gudvangen with the Undredalen Valley.
The flames were extinguished within 45 minutes after police first received reports of the fire, the Norwegian news website The Local reported.
NRK added 22 people were sent to a hospital in Voss, and 48 to a Laerdal hospital.
Among those evacuated from the tunnel and hospitalized were French and American tourists on a tour bus, Rolf Abrahamsen, director of the Voss hospital.
There were no reports of injuries other than those smoke-related, or of what caused the truck to catch fire.
Police attorney Jorn Lasse Refsnes said the tunnel would be closed for several days.
