Ludwigsburg (dpa / lsw) - A burning truck caused a traffic jam on Autobahn 8 on Monday afternoon. According to the police, a 57-year-old truck driver was driving on the Autobahn towards Ulm when he saw smoke rising from the loading area of his truck just before the Neuhausen auf den Fildern (Esslingen district) exit. The man stopped on the hard shoulder and tried to put out the fire with two fire extinguishers. Because he couldn't do this, he uncoupled the tractor. The fire brigade was finally able to extinguish the flames.
A large column of smoke temporarily obstructed visibility on the freeway. In addition, two lanes had to be temporarily closed. As a result, a six-kilometer traffic jam formed on the A8. According to the police, air traffic at the neighboring airport was not affected. Nobody got hurt.
The cargo, consisting of medical equipment, was completely destroyed by the fire. The police estimate the damage to the semi-trailer at around 5,000 euros. The value of the cargo is currently unknown. The cause of the fire could not be finally clarified according to the officials. According to the current status, a defective battery could have triggered the fire.
