GREEN RIVER, Wyo. – In Wyoming, investigators started examining the damage in a highway tunnel on Saturday. Smoke, dangerous chemicals, and structural issues made it difficult to determine the number of casualties from the fiery crash.
As per officials, at least two people died, and five others sustained serious injuries in a crash involving multiple vehicles on Friday. The incident occurred in the westbound tunnel of Interstate 80 beneath Castle Rock, a snow-covered sandstone formation that overlooks Green River in southwest Wyoming.
Maj. James Thomas from the Wyoming Highway Patrol mentioned, “The investigation will be lengthy due to the scale of the incident and the need to thoroughly document everything for our investigation.”
Once officials are able to pull vehicles out, they will work with the county coroner, he said. Authorities still have yet to be able to count all the vehicles involved.
Photos of the scene Friday showed crumpled semitrailers outside the smoke-blackened mouth of the tunnel, which is about a quarter-mile long (400 meters).
Randy Ringstmeyer, a Wyoming Department of Transportation engineer, said there was extensive fire damage in the middle third of the westbound tunnel. The blaze damaged its concrete lining, causing loose concrete to fall and requiring first responders to avoid those areas.
Interstate traffic was being rerouted through Green River. Officials aimed to reopen the eastbound tunnel in three days so it can host two-way traffic while the westbound section remains closed. Engineers were unable to estimate when the westbound tunnel would reopen.
The National Transportation Safety Board said it has opened a safety investigation together with the highway patrol.
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