People in and near the Wyoming city of Green River told how the "really, really bad" smash in the tunnel under mountain terrain caused explosions which lasted around 30 minutes
At least two people have died and several more are trapped after an "ugly" crash in a tunnel led to an explosion.
Multiple vehicles, including a tractor, collided in the tunnel in Green River, Wyoming. A tractor trailer loaded with transformers was involved in the massive pile-up and this led to the "raging" blast, it is understood.
The tunnel could give way at any moment, authorities told reporters. Sweetwater County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Jason Mower told Cowboy State Daily in the US: "We are containing the scene now because there’s nothing else we can do, given the conditions inside the tunnel. Both the nature of the fire and now the structural integrity inside the tunnel itself."
Wyoming Highway Patrol had confirmed two fatalities and at least seven people have been rushed to hospital. Geologists and bridge engineers are currently "assessing the tunnel infrastructure".
The huge operation to find and rescue any other casualties is difficult, authorities say, due to the dangerous scene. Fire crews initially struggled to access the scene, which is on the westbound of Interstate 80, a rural main road in the landlocked state in the west of the US. Mr Mower added: "Basically, we treat it as a giant crime scene."
Pictures show thick black smoke billow out of the narrow tunnel which takes the Interstate 80 under mountain terrain near the city of Green River. Lorries appear to have been involved in the fiery crash, believed to have happened at around midday local time (7pm UK).
State Senator John Kolb said the tunnel is likely to collapse. He added: "It’s going to be pretty devastating for the area, most importantly for those folks that lost their lives."
David Brewer and his daughter Alyssa witnessed the horror unfold. David, from Kemmerer, Wyoming, said: "We heard and felt the huge explosions. They went on for 30 to 45 minutes." His daughter added: "It was very, very scary."
Jennifer Lynn Carr said she could see a plume of smoke from her home in Green River itself, a couple of miles off the main road which runs east to west into Utah. Both lanes are affected, though the impact happened on the westbound side for Salt Lake City, Utah.
A billow of smoke could be seen for miles following the pile-up ( Image: AP)
Jennifer said: "My daughter and I heard multiple booms that sounded like cars running into each other. She was terrified and panicked, and I told her it would be OK. But it was pretty scary."
And Stan Blake, who also lives in the rural area, said: "Sure, there have been crashes in the tunnels before, but not like this. I’ve never seen black smoke billowing out of both ends of the tunnel. This is really, really bad. It’s ugly."
The rescue operation in Wyoming continues and is likely to take several hours. It follows the pile-up in Oregon, which saw more than 100 vehicles collide in snow on the I-84 westbound.
At least one of the cars, an SUV, caught fire amid the chaos on the Interstate-84 in Oregon near Multnomah Falls which is feared to have been caused by the horrendous conditions. Many people were trapped within their vehicles for hours as emergency crews rushed to the scene on Thursday.
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