Breaking News. Explosion in Melbourne's Burnley Tunnel

[Parihaka]

No web links as yet, 3 confirmed dead.

[Parihaka]

OK, it was a multiple car/truck collision

Three dead in fire - reports

March 23, 2007 10:45am
Article from: AAP

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AT LEAST one person is confirmed dead and two others are feared to have died after a fire erupted in Melbourne's Burnley Tunnel following a multi vehicle crash this morning.

"Police can confirm that there's been one fatality involved in this accident," a spokeswoman said.

She said it was unclear how many other people may have been injured.

The multiple vehicle crash this morning shut both the inbound and outbound tunnels and forced the evacuation of hundreds of motorists.

A Victoria Police spokesman said the crash involved three cars and a truck.

According to radio reports, black smoke was pouring out of smoke stacks above the tunnels and traffic was gridlocked.

Transurban spokeswoman Jean Kerr-Walsh confirmed the incident occurred in the Burnley tunnel and the Domain tunnel had also been closed.

Ms Kerr-Walsh said emergency crews were responding.

The eastbound Burnley tunnel links Melbourne's inner-city to the eastern suburbs and is about 3.5km long.

A truck driver who spoke to Southern Cross Broadcasting said he was stopped in traffic about 1km inside the tunnel when he heard two explosions.

"I'd been sitting there a couple of minutes, the next thing there was an explosion further down in the tunnel and the car shook and about 50 seconds later there was another one," the man, identified as John, said.

"The next thing we were told to evacuate and leave our keys in the car and I turned around and walked out."

A taxi driver, identified as Cliff, told the radio station he was among several hundred people evacuated from the King Street end of the tunnel.

He said overhead signs instructed drivers to stop and turn their engines off.

"Then came the announcement that we had to evacuate the tunnel, we just walked out, slowly walked out. And here we are now, a couple of hundred of us," he told Southern Cross Broadcasting.

"It was fairly orderly, everyone was pretty cool actually."