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At least two people have been killed and more than 60 others injured after two trucks collided on a motorway near Bologna airport in northern Italy.
A lorry carrying cars collided on a bridge with a tanker lorry containing flammable materials, local reports said.
The blast, which engulfed the area with flames and black smoke and caused a bridge to partially collapse, occurred near Borgo Panigale to the west of the city, the Italian fire service tweeted.
That is awful and one big mess. I guess the fatalities were the lorry drivers. I guess we'll never quite know why they collided. The death toll could have been a lot higher, but I wouldn't be surprised if some of the injuries are life ruining.
There but for fortune go you or I.
B1040 wrote: ↑Mon Aug 06, 2018 22:37
That is awful and one big mess. I guess the fatalities were the lorry drivers. I guess we'll never quite know why they collided. The death toll could have been a lot higher, but I wouldn't be surprised if some of the injuries are life ruining.
There but for fortune go you or I.
A car hire place I frequented around this date two years ago is just out of picture bottom left.
Looking at the video this was clearly an LPG tanker.
The tanker runs into the back of a truck stopped in traffic. It looks as if the fuel tank of that truck is ripped open and a major fire starts. Some time later the LPG truck explodes. This is a classic BLEVE (boiling liquid expanding vapor explosion). LPG is only liquid under pressure at normal temperatures. Heat a tank of it and the gas starts to boil in the tank and pressure rises quickly and the tank ruptures.
The massive gas cloud then explodes with massive force. It is clear that this is actually a composite video as by the time the BLEVE happened the other vehicles had been cleared and the road closed. The low death toll is I think down to the actions of the local police who must have reacted very quickly and correctly assessed the risk.
Bryn666 wrote: ↑Thu Aug 16, 2018 10:40
Rather an unfortunate fortnight for the Italian motorway network. This bridge collapsed during the explosion as well.
Given the size of the fire and explosion that is hardly surprising. Nobody builds highway bridges the be safe from that level of damage. What was important in this case that the emergency services had the time and organisation to clear the bridge before the collapse. The collapse was also limited to the area damaged by the explosion.
Bryn666 wrote: ↑Thu Aug 16, 2018 10:40
Rather an unfortunate fortnight for the Italian motorway network. This bridge collapsed during the explosion as well.
Given the size of the fire and explosion that is hardly surprising. Nobody builds highway bridges the be safe from that level of damage. What was important in this case that the emergency services had the time and organisation to clear the bridge before the collapse. The collapse was also limited to the area damaged by the explosion.
Yes, it was on the whole a well managed incident and the risk to life was minimised (even though there were fatalities). Regardless, it will dent confidence in the safety of the network in the minds of the public.
Bryn Terminally cynical, unimpressed, and nearly Middle Age already. She said life was like a motorway; dull, grey, and long.
A bridge carrying a local road over the A14 collapsed recently as well. I think that collapse was spontaneous, rather than caused by any particular incident or accident.
There is strong case for modern lane guidance, keep your distance, etc technology to me made mandatory in hazardous goods vehicles as soon as it is feasible, even if other vehicles do not follow for some years.
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"I intend to always travel a different road"
Ibn Battuta 1304-1368
