MIn the middle of the Easter rush in front of the north gate of the Gotthard Road Tunnel in Switzerland, activists stuck to the road on Good Friday. The police closed the tunnel temporarily. It is the gateway for motorists to the southern canton of Ticino and to Italy. At 10:30 a.m., they were off the road, temporarily arrested and reported, police said.
Long before the event, a 15-kilometer traffic jam formed in front of the tunnel in the early morning. The wait was over two and a half hours. According to the TCS Automobile Club, the traffic jam had increased to 17 kilometers by midday and the waiting time was about three hours. Passenger trains travel through the Gotthard Base Tunnel at around 200 kilometers per hour. The tunnel ride takes about 20 minutes.
According to the police, there was a scuffle between angry drivers and six people who stuck themselves on the street. They belonged to the group “Switzerland Renewal” (approx.: Switzerland Renewal). They are said to have entered the road on foot via a motorway exit. According to the police, the activists involved ranged in age from 19 to 60. The group advocates civil resistance for the climate. On Twitter, above a photo of the action, she wrote: “Now is the time to act as a citizen to ensure a future worth living for us and our children.” With ‘care and patience’ the police have the members of Renewal Switzerland ‘out of the way’.
