Cleanup Work After Mass Pile-Up on A2 Completed
There was hardly any repair work to be done, only the water protection system needed special cleaning, an Asfinag spokesperson told APA. The pile-up involved 33 vehicles. The cause was diesel that had leaked extensively from a burst truck tank. According to the police, 28 people were slightly injured, and an 18-year-old was seriously injured.
After Mass Pile-Up: A2 Near Graz Passable Again
A truck driver (43) from the Graz-Umgebung district was driving his articulated lorry on the A2 towards Vienna at around 5:30 PM. At the Laßnitzhöhe motorway exit, a roughly 30-centimeter-long iron rod lying on the road got wedged under the truck. This tore open the fuel tank of the articulated lorry. At least 150 liters of diesel fuel then flowed onto the Southern Motorway (A2) in the Laßnitzhöhe area and spread across several lanes. As a result, an oil alarm also had to be triggered. While the truck driver (43) immediately stopped his vegetable and meat-laden articulated lorry to warn following road users, a subsequent car driver quickly alerted the emergency services. Nevertheless, the slippery road led to a mass pile-up involving a total of 33 vehicles.
The police initially assumed that the truck's tank had burst for unknown reasons. In any case, the diesel fuel quickly spread due to the truck's speed and flowed across several lanes of the motorway. This area is characterized by hanging curves. Several cars driving behind the truck skidded. Subsequently, collisions occurred involving a total of 33 vehicles. According to the Styrian State Police Directorate, 29 people were slightly injured and some were taken to nearby hospitals. All but two were able to be discharged. An 18-year-old from the Southeast Styria district was initially thought to have suffered serious injuries. She was flown to LKH Graz by the ÖAMTC rescue helicopter Christophorus 12. However, it turned out that the degree of injury was only slight. She was able to be discharged into home care.
Accident Vehicles Removed from Southern Motorway
The motorway had to be closed for several hours. Due to the heavy traffic volume over the weekend, there was a traffic jam several kilometers long. At the request of the police, Asfinag had called for the area to be bypassed widely. Traffic was diverted via the Pyhrn Motorway (A9) at the Graz West junction and routed via the Bruck Expressway (S35) and the Semmering Expressway (S6). By around 11:00 PM, the first lane at the accident site could be passed again. The vehicles that were no longer drivable were removed from the motorway by various towing companies. In addition to the surrounding fire brigades, several rescue vehicles and the emergency medical helicopter were deployed. The approximately 90 firefighters from six brigades secured the accident site, absorbed the leaked diesel with around 800 kilograms of binding agent, and cleaned the three lanes together with Asfinag employees. Only minor damage occurred to the guardrails.
(APA/Red)
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