traffic - Burning crane - A42 closure lifted again
After an Autocrane's engine caught fire on the A42 motorway between the interchanges of Gelsenkirchen-Heßler and Essen-Altenessen, towards Duisburg, the closure has been lifted. The crane's motor caught fire in the afternoon, according to Essen Fire Department. The driver managed to stop the vehicle on the shoulder and exit it in time. No one was injured.
Since this incident occurred exactly at the border between Essen and Gelsenkirchen, alarm calls went out at both control centers, as reported. Fire departments from both cities therefore dispatched several emergency vehicles to the motorway. After approximately 60 minutes, the fire had been largely extinguished.
Since the flames had been extinguished with a lot of foam and a large amount of hydraulic oil had leaked out, a special company had to clean the slippery road, it was stated. In addition, the completely burnt out vehicle had to be towed away before the road could be reopened.
In connection with this motorway incident, the Fire Department appealed to traffic participants, not to reduce or stop their speed on the counterflow lane near the incident sites, "otherwise you are endangering yourself and other traffic participants."
The closure of the A42 motorway between Gelsenkirchen-Heßler and Essen-Altenessen, towards Duisburg, impacted traffic in North Rhine-Westphalia. The fire department from both Gelsenkirchen and Essen worked together to tackle the blaze, as the incident occurred at the border between the two cities. After the vehicle, which was an Autocrane, was towed away and the slippery road was cleaned, the road connecting Gelsenkirchen and Duisburg was reopened.
