A head-on collision between a car and a lorry in Switzerland's Gotthard Tunnel has left two people dead and forced the temporary closure of the tunnel, a key transit route through the Alps.

Police in the Uri canton said the car, which was on the wrong side of the road, collided with the lorry about three miles inside the tunnel on Wednesday morning.

In addition to the two dead, four people were injured.

The tunnel was closed following the crash.

Drivers were told to make a lengthy detour via the San Bernardino route, which runs further to the east.

The Gotthard tunnel was reopened in the late afternoon.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.