Woolworths truck destroyed in huge inferno on Sydney motorway
A Woolworths truck has burst into flames on the Hume Highway in Sydney’s southwest causing traffic chaos for thousands of commuters on Tuesday morning.
The blaze caused massive delays, closing northbound lanes at St Andrews about 4am. Traffic was backed up for about 10km at 7am, The Daily Telegraph reported.
NSW Police told Yahoo News Australia that there were no injuries from the fire and that the cause of the fire was unknown. Investigations into its cause are ongoing.
Fire and Rescue NSW said the driver managed to detach the trailer from the prime mover before it was engulfed completely.
Crews rushed to the scene to find the B-double truck with the rear trailer fully alight and deployed their specialist bulk tanker and compressed air foam technology.
Dramatic footage of the operation shows the firefighters tackling the inferno.
Debris was left scattered across three lanes as crews worked tirelessly to ease the building congestion on the highway, with two of four lanes reopened at about 5.30am.
DENHAM COURT: 2 of 4 northbound lanes remain closed on the Hume Mwy due to a truck fire near St Andrews Rd. Traffic is queued around 7km so expect significant delays. pic.twitter.com/KYebDd1fcO
— Live Traffic Sydney (@LiveTrafficSyd) June 3, 2019
The truck was towed off the highway before it was brought under control by crews, Fire and Rescue NSW said.
All northbound lanes are expected to be opened shortly.
The congestion comes as commuters from the Blue Mountains suffered similar setbacks with early winter snowfall.
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