– A geologist has been commissioned to assess damage in the mountain, says Knut Dahl Michelsen at the West police district at 6.20pm on Wednesday. It was at 3pm on Wednesday that a vehicle caught fire inside the Jernfjell tunnel on the E39 between Matre and Oppedal. The fire occurred near the north side of the tunnel towards Oppedal. There have been high temperatures, and a geologist has been requested to assess the damage in the mountain before the Norwegian Public Roads Administration can start cleaning up after the fire, says Michelsen. The tunnel will be closed for a long time, reports the Norwegian Road Administration shortly after 6 p.m. The recommended detour is E16 to Lærdal and national road 5 to Skei, reports the Swedish Road Traffic Agency. A driver’s car will be driven through the night on the E16 between Bergen and Voss. Smoke divers searched At 5 p.m., the West Police District reported that smoke divers had searched through the tunnel, and found no other vehicles or people. The fire was not then extinguished. The fire brigade came out from both sides of the tunnel, but the fire took place near the north side of the tunnel towards Gulen. At 16.20, smoke divers were brought in by helicopter to extinguish and search the tunnel. Three people It was a camper van that caught fire, and there were three adults in their 20s in the car. According to the police, a propane bottle in the car made the extinguishing task challenging. The fire spread from the car to some cables in the tunnel. Operations manager Knut Dahl Michelsen at the West police district says at 1630 that there is a certain degree of control over the situation. As far as the police know, no one was physically injured in the fire. No one should be missed. QUEUES: There are long queues in both directions. Photo: Kristin Helgeland Hauge / news Queuing in the city The tunnel runs through Jernfjellet between Kringla in Gulen municipality and Hopsdalen in Masfjorden municipality. Since May last year, the nearly 2.4 kilometer long tunnel has been undergoing upgrades in order for it to meet the requirements of the Tunnel Safety Regulations. There were large queues both from the north and south side of the tunnel. Detour via county road 57 The Road Traffic Center says that the tunnel may be closed for a long time. There is a diversion on county road 57 between Knarvik and Gulen. Traffic between Bergen and Førde can also choose to drive via Vikafjellet. – Traffic conductors have now been sent out to direct the traffic to the diversion roads, says traffic operator Monica Øksengård to news at 16.20. Oil spill on the road Professional driver Kjell Milde was on his way from Instefjord to Bergen with fish when he was stopped by the fire at Kringla. He depicts a lot of smoke from the mouth of the tunnel. He himself did not see anything about the car that was on fire. He had to turn back towards the Oppedal-Lavik ferry connection. – It will be a very long detour, but there is fresh fish, so it is urgent to get the cargo out. I turned around and drove towards Lærdal, where we change trucks and get loaded to Oslo, he says. Milde warns against slippery road surfaces, without him knowing if it has anything to do with the car fire in the tunnel. – There was an oil spill towards the ferry berth. Especially at the road junction at Instefjord, he says.
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Car fire in tunnel – E39 will be closed for a long time – news Vestland
