Thuringia
Burning truck drives six kilometers through tunnel
The burning truck on the A71 behind the Rennsteig tunnel. photo
© Thuringia Police/dpa
The Rennsteig Tunnel is almost eight kilometers long. When his trailer containing several cars starts to burn, the driver manages to steer his vehicle out of the pipe. Nobody gets hurt.
A truck driver drove six kilometers through the Rennsteig Tunnel with a burning trailer. The truck has… The tunnel started burning, police said. When the driver couldn’t put out the fire, he had the presence of mind to drive out of the tunnel to prevent something worse from happening.
According to the police, the fire started late Thursday evening and spread from a tire to the entire trailer and several loaded cars. Nobody was injured.
The A71 was initially completely closed at the level of the tunnel until Friday morning, it was said. At around 8 a.m. a lane in the direction of Sangerhausen was reopened. According to the police, the second lane should remain closed until 10:30 a.m. for clean-up work. The damage is currently estimated at around 250,000 euros.