The crash at 6.30. The 47-year-old driver was injured, transported in yellow code to the Melegnano hospital. The truck, carrying heptane, overturned on itself before quickly catching fire
A load of expired drugs to dispose of, a sudden swerve e a truck with a trailer that overturns on the highwaylies on the central reservation between the two carriageways (occupying both of them). And then it catches fire quickly, fueled by the load of heptane, a highly flammable substance. This is the first reconstruction of the serious accident that at 6.30 on Wednesday February 16 blocked the A1 – Autostrada del Sole Milan-Naples between the Lodi toll booth and the connection with the Teem in Cerro al Lambro, just beyond the Melegnano tollbooth. Upon completion of the operations, the firefighters announced that in that articulated lorry, with a total capacity of 18 thousand liters, were found 14 thousand liters of highly flammable liquid. A quantity that could have triggered one tragedy if, instead of burning in small quantities, it was exploded.
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The truck driver
Protagonist – solo – the 47-year-old driver of an articulated lorry that, as he proceeded towards Milan, lost control halfway up to Lodi Vecchio (kilometer 21) and hit the new jersey. The reason is still unclear – Autostrade per l’Italia also talks about the involvement of a car -, but the Tir overturned on itself before quickly catching fire. Long queues on the motorway, on the former state road 235 and on the via Emilia. Road traffic between Lodi and the toll booth but also towards Sant’Angelo Lodigiano remained practically blocked for the whole day. Tilt traffic also entering Milan, between San Giuliano Milanese and piazzale Corvetto. Only around 18.30 was one lane reopened heading south.
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The clash and rescue
The accident happened around 6.30, perhaps due to the dense fog on the lower Po valley. A dramatic dawn on the motorway near Borgo San Giovanni, one kilometer from the Pieve Fissiraga (Lodi) tollbooth, kilometer 21 North, towards Milan. The rescue vehicles intervened on the spot not without difficulty – the rescue helicopter was raised by Novate but not landed due to the fog – and the driver, injured and with burns, was brought in yellow code to the hospital of Vizzolo Predabissi (Melegnano). Three vehicles and a dozen men from the firefighters of Lodi, Sant’Angelo Lodigiano and Milan arrived on site to put out the fire – which was put out around 9 am. The articulated lorry was loaded with waste from medicines stored and being disposed of. Precisely due to the presence of numerous chemicalstherefore, the Nbcr Nucleus of the Fire Brigade also went to the site to conduct the first analyzes on the fumes in the air.
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Traffic
The traffic police closed the A1 motorway in both directions (also because the burning vehicle occupied the entire roadway) and around 9am the queue of cars blocked in the barred section he had reached two kilometers in one direction and six kilometers in the opposite. To bypass the accident area – it takes several hours to remove the skeleton of the burning truck – the Cerro al Lambro junction towards the east ring road was used as an obligatory exit towards Bologna outside of Milan (Teem). Towards Milan, forced exit at Lodi. From Caorso (Piacenza) Another tank was brought into which to transfer the approximately 14,000 liters of chemical substances present in the articulated lorry that went on fire (a small amount burned).
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The reopening time
Environment at 18.3o the A1 motorway section reopened in a southerly direction between the connection of the East Outer Ring Road of Milan and Lodi. The section reopened first to one lane and then completely in the evening. wait in the night, probably around 3, the reopening of the North carriageway. At least one of the three lanes in the direction of Milan, between Lodi and the Teem exit, was expected to reopen around 8 pm, but the decline of a dense fog – they report from Autostrade per l’Italia – has made the operation more complex, especially to allow workers to work safely.
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Work on the restoration
The preparatory operations for the reopening – reads a note – have worked tirelessly over 50 workers of the Milan branch management of Autostrade per l’Italia and are more than 40 vehicles used for the work. The teams of the Aspi territorial garrison continue to operate on the spot. Users heading to Milan after the deviation on the A21 are advised to use the A4 or the A7 to reach the Lombard capital. Alternatively, for long journeys in the direction of Milan, it is advisable to follow the A22 del Brennero to then take the A4.
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February 16, 2022 (change February 16, 2022 | 21:39)
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