2LT Local News

SYDNEY, May 2 (Xinhua) — Hundreds of vehicles were damaged after a truck spilt metal debris across multiple lanes of a major Sydney highway on Friday.

The truck carrying metal debris lost its load shortly around 5 a.m. local time on Friday while heading south on the M1 Pacific Motorway, one of Australia’s busiest highways linking Sydney to the city of Newcastle to the north.

The incident occurred near the suburb of Palmdale, 60 kilometers north of central Sydney, and caused tyre damage to hundreds of vehicles.

A stretch of the motorway almost 30 kilometers long was closed as authorities undertook a major clean-up operation.

Howard Collins, coordinator of the Transport Management Center in the state of New South Wales (NSW), told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) that the back door of the truck had come open and spread “thousands” of pieces of sharp metal across the motorway.

NSW Police Chief Inspector Thomas Barnes told Nine Entertainment radio that the incident was “somewhat unprecedented” and advised anyone who had driven southbound on the M1 on Friday morning to inspect their tyres for damage.

Western Sydney trucking company NJ Ashton accepted responsibility for the incident and assured affected drivers that it would pay for any assistance through its insurance.

Company spokesperson Daniel Falconer said that the truck driver had loaded 40 tons of scrap metal on Thursday and completed the necessary checks on Friday morning.

He told the ABC that the company would assist with the clean-up.