Near Spittal

Accidental meat transporter blocks highway

Some of the pork halves were lying on the highway.(Bild: FF Spittal an der Drau)

After a rear-end collision, the Wolfsberg tunnel on the Tauern highway had to be closed on Thursday morning. A refrigerated truck lost a large amount of meat, which had to be collected by the fire department.

Shortly after 4 a.m., a truck driver (56) lost control of his truck on the Tauernautobahn in the Spittal an der Drau area and skidded. "He hit the guardrail on the right-hand side as well as the concrete crash barrier running along the middle of the highway several times," according to the Carinthia Provincial Police Directorate. The forces caused the trailer of the vehicle, which weighed several tons, to break apart. Numerous pig halves scattered across the carriageway.

"A following car driver was unable to stop in time and hit the side of the trailer lying on the guard rail," said the police.

30 firefighters had to remove the meat products.(Bild: FF Spittal an der Drau, Krone KREATIV)

A total of 30 men from the Spittal an der Drau and St. Peter fire departments had to be deployed to remove the meat products. The Wolfsberg tunnel in the direction of Villach had to be closed to traffic during the clean-up operation. There was a traffic jam for several kilometers in the early morning traffic.