Wild Footage Shows Moment Hazardous Chemical Truck Explodes

Newly released video of a dramatic car crash in Germany shows drivers fleeing their vehicles and running for their lives, as explosions of nitrous oxide and hazardous chemicals ring around them.

The accident occurred on August 30 near Magdeburg, just outside of a construction site situated on the motorway. A chain reaction began when a truck carrying the hazardous materials failed to see a looming traffic jam and crashed into three other trucks. A fifth truck containing so-called “laughing gas” then crashed into the four other vehicles. 

The nitrous oxide truck was the first to spark a fire, and it quickly spread to the hazardous chemicals truck. Then, a series of increasingly large explosions began to go off, sending people fleeing from their vehicles on foot. One brave man, however, can be seen running back to his car to retrieve something, as his wife looks on in distress.

“The road—it shook. It was like an earthquake,” one eyewitness told German press agency dpa (via Ghana News Agency). “And then we just said, ‘Run to the back and get to safety. Leave the car.’”

Nitrous oxide explodes from truck in Germany?#explosions #germantruck #X #road #highwayfire #autobahn #carcrash #carfire #caraccident #panic pic.twitter.com/0VfuNolrJG

— realncars (@realncars) September 14, 2023

Authorities could not say what chemicals the truck was carrying, but they did confirm the event had released toxic substances into the air. They ordered nearby residents to stay inside their homes and established a radius of more than 2,000 feet surrounding the accident site that not even rescue personnel were allowed to enter. Aside from the two deaths, no other fatalities were reported from the incident. Another truck driver suffered “slight injuries.”