The Soria municipalities of Montuenga de Soria and Aguilar de Montuenga have been preventively confined during the early hours of this Saturday after the fire of an articulated truck carrying dangerous chemical substances that was traveling on the A-2 (Northeast Highway), at the height of the municipal district of Arcos de Jalón.
The Board of Castilla y León activated at 03.20 hours Level 1 of the Special Plan for Dangerous Goods, a measure that includes the preventive isolation of the localities near the incident to avoid risks derived from possible toxic emissions or explosions.
A crash between a car and the truck
The accident occurred around 00:15 hours on kilometer 172 of the A-2, when a car collided with the truck that was transporting dangerous goods classified in categories 3, 5, 8 and 9, which include flammable products, oxidizers, corrosives and other potentially dangerous materials.
After the impact, the truck caught fire and was completely burned out, which forced the deployment of a large emergency response to prevent the fire from affecting the transported substances or causing a toxic leak.
According to sources from the Emergency Center 1-1-2 of Castilla y León, the accident left the driver of the car seriously injured, while the driver of the truck suffered minor injuries.
Total closure of the motorway
As a security measure, the authorities ordered the total closure of the A-2 in both directions —both towards Madrid and towards Zaragoza—, which forced traffic to be diverted for several hours while the firefighting and control efforts were carried out.
The emergency teams finally managed to control and extinguish the fire around 06:30 hours, almost six hours after the accident.
During the intervention participated firefighters, Civil Guard, health personnel and chemical risk specialists, responsible for evaluating the state of the cargo and ensuring that there was no risk to the population.
Preventive confinement
The confinement of Montuenga de Soria and Aguilar de Montuenga was adopted as a preventive measure given the possibility of toxic fumes from the fire. Residents were informed of the situation and were advised to remain in their homes until the emergency was under control.
Once the fire was extinguished and additional risks were ruled out, emergency services began to progressively lift the restrictions and restore traffic on the highway.
The authorities continue investigating the exact circumstances of the accident, while the damages caused by the fire of the vehicle that was transporting dangerous goods are being evaluated.