SRF star Andrea Vetsch has to be towed away in Gotthard

Here's what it's all about

• On the show “Donnschtig-Jass,” Andrea Vetsch recalled a breakdown in the Gotthard Tunnel.
• She had confused the gauges for gas and coolant and ran out of gas.
• Today, the SRF host can laugh about the incident and says, “It happened to me once, and never again.”

Summary created with

Andrea Vetsch probably hadn't expected that question from the audience. On SRF's "Donnschtig-Jass," host Stefan Büsser asked the "Tagesschau" anchor about an embarrassing incident from her past.

The question was what it was like to drive through the Gotthard Tunnel with an empty tank. Vetsch initially laughed and said, “That’s a mean question.” Then she told the story.

The car came to a stop in the middle of the tunnel

While driving through the Gotthard Pass, the car suddenly stopped working. The reason was a misunderstanding: Vetsch had confused the fuel gauge with the coolant gauge and therefore hadn't noticed that the tank was almost empty.

"I actually came to a stop right in the middle of the Gotthard Tunnel," she said on the show.

A driver behind her helped the host roll the car, with the engine idling, onto the shoulder. She and her two children were then taken by a tow truck to the nearest gas station.

These days, she takes it in stride

Was the situation particularly uncomfortable for her because she might have been recognized as a TV host? Vetsch said no. At the time of the mishap, she was nowhere near as well-known as she is today.

She can laugh about the mishap now. But she makes one thing clear: “It happened to me once, and never again.”

The “Donnschtig-Jass” event took place as scheduled on Thursday evening in Horgen, ZH went ahead as scheduled despite a temporary evacuation. The area had to be evacuated temporarily due to severe thunderstorms. However, the show still began on time.