A section of the Trans-Canada Highway in central Newfoundland remains closed Thursday as police investigators gathered evidence where two tractor-trailers collided Wednesday night near Bishop’s Falls.
“Apparently there was an explosion,” said Gary Harnum, chief of the Bishop’s Falls fire department, who added firefighters were called to the crash just before darkness fell.
The RCMP issued a call Thursday for witnesses who may have seen the collision.
Harnum said there was a lot of flame and thick black smoke billowing from the two trucks as they approached the collision.
While he said it only took firefighters about 10 or 15 minutes to extinguish the fire, Harnum described the accident as bad.
“That was probably one of the biggest, biggest accident scenes for a fire in a long while,” he said.
He said there was burning fuel and rubber, as well as a log home on one of the tractor-trailers, leaving a big mess along the road to be cleaned up.
There’s no word on the condition of the drivers or any possible passengers involved in the crash.
Around 9:30 p.m. NT Wednesday, the RCMP in Grand Falls-Windsor told drivers the highway was closed in both directions between exits 21 and 22.
The force said Thursday morning that traffic was still being diverted through Bishop’s Falls. Harnum asked motorists to slow down as they drive through the town.
Harnum said officers are still on the scene of the crash and are trying to do a re-enactment to determine what happened.
The RCMP said it would provide more details about the crash as they are confirmed.