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55 people hospitalized after tunnel fire in Norway

Emergency personel attend the scene of a truck fire in a tunnel near Bergen Norway Monday Aug. 5, 2013. Police say 55 people have been taken to hospitals following a truck fire in Norway’s second-longest tunnel. Police spokesman Jorn Lasse Refnes says the truck caught fire 3.5 kilometers (2.17 miles) into the tunnel, in a district west of Bergen. He said it is unclear how seriously injured the people taken for medical care were, and that many had suffered due to smoke inhalation. (AP Photo/Arne Veum / NTB scanpix) NORWAY OUT

OSLO, Norway (AP) — A semi-trailer truck caught fire in Norway’s second-longest tunnel Monday, leading to the evacuation of 160 people — 55 of whom were hospitalized due to smoke inhalation and other injuries.

Emergency personel attend the scene of a truck fire in a tunnel near Bergen Norway Monday Aug. 5, 2013. Police say 55 people have been taken to hospitals following a truck fire in Norway’s second-longest tunnel. Police spokesman Jorn Lasse Refnes says the truck caught fire 3.5 kilometers (2.17 miles) into the tunnel, in a district west of Bergen. He said it is unclear how seriously injured the people taken for medical care were, and that many had suffered due to smoke inhalation. (AP Photo/Arne Veum / NTB scanpix) NORWAY OUT

The truck caught fire 3.5 kilometers (2.17 miles) into the tunnel in a district east of Bergen, police spokesman Jorn Lasse Refnes said. The Gudvangatunnelen is 11.4 kilometers (7.08 miles) long and is in the western part of Norway.

Rescue services spokesman Reinhardt Sorensen said the lights went out in the tunnel after the fire. Most of the injured suffered from smoke inhalation, but some people suffered light injuries after they crashed their cars in the darkness, he said.

The 160 people evacuated from the tunnel included the truck driver, who walked away uninjured, Sorensen said. He added that it wasn’t yet clear what caused the fire, which was extinguished.

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