Tunnel's Half-a-Mile Inferno

Oct 14, 04:20 PM

Current Headlines: A 15-TRUCK pile-up in a California tunnel left 10 people injured and at least one feared dead last night.

The wreckage stretched half-a-mile after two lorries collided and started a chain reaction at Interstate 5.

"Flames were leaping out of both sides of the tunnel, about 60 and 70 feet high," a witness said.

Twenty people evacuated the fiery tunnel on foot and five trucks were stuck inside.

One driver remained unaccounted for last night, and the 10 injured were taken to local hospitals.

Although the tunnel is designed to carry truck traffic through a mountain pass area, car passengers also use it.

The intense heat caused concrete to crack and melt, sending chunks falling on to the road below.

The interstate, a key route connecting Los Angeles to San Francisco, was expected to remain closed today.

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