Battery-laden truck catches fire on Austrian A2

A truck loaded with batteries caught fire on the A2 motorway near Ilz in the Hartberg-Fürstenfeld district overnight into Friday, ORF reported. The 52-year-old driver was uninjured.

At about 12:30 a.m., the Slovak driver was travelling towards Vienna when the vehicle’s electronics suddenly failed. A fire broke out around the dashboard, and he pulled onto the hard shoulder and tried to extinguish it. Within minutes, the truck was fully engulfed in flames.

Firefighters carried out extensive extinguishing work, paying particular attention to the batteries in the trailer. The cargo was extinguished and transferred to another vehicle.

The truck’s fuel tank was also damaged, releasing about 200 litres of diesel. Emergency crews pumped out and contained the fuel and said there was no environmental risk.

The A2 towards Vienna was closed during the operation, with traffic diverted at Sinabelkirchen. One lane reopened at about 5:30 a.m., but the right lane was expected to remain closed until about 9 a.m. Recovery work was continuing, with further traffic disruption expected. Police, firefighters, the Red Cross and motorway operator ASFINAG were involved.