ZURICH (Reuters) - A major artery for trains between central Europe and Italy will be shut for about a month after rocks crashed onto the line passing through the Alpine Gotthard tunnel, burying a construction worker, the Swiss train operator said on Wednesday.
Some 3,000 cubic meters of rocks came tumbling down on Tuesday and buried the 29-year-old worker and rescue teams had yet to find him, Swiss police said. It was not known whether he was dead or alive.
Travellers from Switzerland's financial capital Zurich face having their journeys towards Milan prolonged by 60 to 90 minutes as they transfer to buses for part of the trip, Swiss train operator SBB said. Goods shipments will be rerouted.
The tracks will have to be cleared and the area, which had already experienced a landslide earlier this year, made safe.
"The work will take about a month," the SBB said in a statement. "There's still the risk of rocks falling."
(Reporting by Catherine Bosley; Editing by Mark Heinrich)
