Lorry inferno closes M62 for five hours
THIS was the dramatic moment a tanker was engulfed in flames on the M62 – closing the westbound motorway for five hours.
The driver had managed to pull the oxygen-carrying HGV into the hard shoulder near the Milnrow junction before escaping the blaze unharmed.
Police shut the motorway in both directions between junction 21 at Milnrow and junction 22 at Rishworth Moor as emergency services dealt with the fire shortly after noon on Saturday.
After around three hours, the eastbound carriageway was reopened, but those sitting in westbound traffic were stuck until at least 5pm.
There were surreal scenes throughout the afternoon as gridlocked Bank Holiday travellers sunbathed by their cars or trekked up the motorway laden with luggage.
One stranded passenger even shared a beer with Paddy McGuinness who, caught up in the jam as a passenger, spent the time sharing several posts on social media.
Some drivers, meanwhile, were condemned by Highways bosses for using the hard shoulder and hindering the emergency
Ben Jenkinson was a passenger in a car which drove past the fire before crews arrived.
He said: “We saw a huge plume of black smoke.
“As we got closer we saw it was a lorry on fire. My friend driving saw what it was carrying and hurried to get past because he was worried it was going to explode. It looked really bad. The whole cabin was engulfed in flames.”
Highways England had to remove part of the central reservation in order to free motorists who were trapped by the closure.
By around 6pm, all lanes of the services. eastbound M62 had reopened, with one lane opening on the westbound side.
On Sunday morning, one westbound lane remained closed.
The M62 closure followed the a lengthy closure of a stretch of the M60 on Friday night.
The carriageway was shut between junction 1 at Stockport Pyramid and junction 2 at Cheadle shortly after 9pm.
It reopened at 8am on Saturday morning.
Police confirmed on Saturday morning that they were called to concerns for the safety of a man. He was later detained under the Mental Health Act.