Tunnel fire in Slovenia - transport truck collided with several vehicles and caused massive fire

A multi-vehicle collision caused a massive fire in a tunnel on the A1 motorway near Maribor on Monday, leading to significant congestion along the route preferred by many tourists on their way from central Europe to the Croatian coast.

No one was seriously injured or killed in this tunnel fire. Three vehicles caught fire in the tunnel, near the entrance.

The tunnel sustained considerable damage and will remain closed for a while, likely exacerbating the traffic, writes Slovenian news site STA.sl.

Slovenia has an extensive system of highway tunnels and pretty much all road transport, for goods and people, depend on them in one way or another, as it is a small country with many mountains and hills.  Any extended periods of needing to close a tunnel for maintenance has large impacts on the Slovenian traffic situation. 

This is  Google translation of what the Slovenian road company DARS wrote on their Twitter account on Monday, June 26:

"At 6:56 a.m., a truck collided with a motorcade in the Malečnik covered trench and caught fire. A fire broke out, engulfing two more trucks. The concrete vault was damaged, the lighting and other equipment burned. According to the first estimates, we expect that the rehabilitation will be more extensive".

According to an article on Slovenia Posts, intervention manager Primož Osojnik from the Maribor professional fire brigade said that they were informed about the fire in a transport vehicle highway at 7 a.m., and that only a little later fire broke out in a tunnel where several people were supposed to be trapped.
 

For this reason, additional teams of the fire brigade were immediately activated, and then firefighters from eleven volunteer brigades also came to help.

According to Osojnik, a total of 120 firefighters with 33 vehicles took part in the operation. They also activated emergency medical assistance and an ecological mobile laboratory, which took samples of fire water and substances driven by various trucks.

According to the information gathered so far, the tunnel’s concrete vault is heavily damaged, as well as practically all traffic signals, cameras and lighting.

"The investigation will show the exact damage caused to the building, but for now the tunnel will be closed from traffic and will remain closed at least until the minimum conditions for emergency movement of traffic are ensured", said DARS representative Mitje Stojnška.