Freeway fire - Updates - Two reported fatalities

Santa Clarita Freeway fire - Truck fire - Tunnel Fire - Newhall Pass

Chain reaction crash in Interstate 5's southbound truck bypass tunnel that runs under the regular freeway where it connects with the Antelope Valley Freeway. Reported to have began when two trucks collided at about 11 p.m...

Updates: -

• NEW: Engineers consider puncturing the tunnel to pour fire retardant inside
  
• Firefighters pumping foam into north end of the tunnel to douse fire

Two reported fatalities -
At least one person involved in the crash was still unaccounted for more than nine hours later.

10 people Injured, eight had minor injuries, according to authorities, and two were moderately hurt. Injuries ranged from moderate burns to neck and back injuries. All 10 were taken to hospitals, but further information on them was not immediately available.

Twenty people evacuated

The tunnel may be structurally compromised and State Department of Transportation engineers had arrived on the scene, some 30 miles northwest of downtown Los Angeles, and were inspecting the tunnel and the freeway above to determine whether firefighters and rescue workers could enter to douse the remaining flames and look for anyone who might have been trapped.
Map: Newhall Pass truck tunnel on Interstate 5 California 10-12-07
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Road detours: California Highway Patrol officers have reopened a section of the Golden State (I-5) Freeway south of the truck fire in the tunnel in Newhall Pass, but say the key artery will be closed north of the Antelope Valley (14) Freeway interchange until further notice.

• CHP officers reported that all three freeways headings towards the pass are open-- the 5, the San Diego (405) Freeway and the Foothill (210) Freeway --
• At Newhall Pass, all northbound traffic is still being diverted to the northbound Antelope Valley (14) Freeway. Traffic may then use surface streets in Santa Clarita to rejoin the 5 freeway, but delays are reported there.
• Vehicles heading to the San Joaquin Valley may stay on routes 14 and 58, via Tehachapi, to rejoin the 5 and 99 freeways in Kern County.

Southbound traffic is diverted from the 5 freeway in Santa Clarita to use surface streets to travel east to the 14 freeway. Traffic is also being diverted onto westbound route 126 at Magic Mountain, to head to Los Angeles via Ventura County, CHP officers said.