Viral video: Truck carrying over 4,500 kg of fireworks catches fire, lights up sky over New Jersey highway

A truck carrying large amounts of fireworks caught fire on an interstate highway in New Jersey, USA | Picture courtesy: Twitter Photo : Twitter

KEY HIGHLIGHTS

• The southbound lanes on the Interstate Highway 287 remained closed until late morning on June 27.
• No injuries were reported and the cause of the fire remains under investigation.
• A now-viral video recorded by a driver shows a colourful, explosive display of fireworks ignited by the blaze.

Stalled motorists on an interstate highway in the US' New Jersey were in for a premature Independence Day celebration earlier this week when a truck carrying fireworks caught fire along the way.A tractor-trailer loaded with around 10,000 pounds (over 4,500 kg) of fireworks went ablaze, setting off a brilliant display of fireworks on the I-287 South in Somerset County Sunday, June 26.The truck driver noticed the tire of a dolly he had on the truck was ablaze and pulled over to the side of I-287 South in Bridgewater at around 10:30 p.m., New Jersey state police said.

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The fire is said to have spread quickly to ignite the in-transit fireworks. Drivers stuck behind the truck on the southbound lanes filmed the thousands of kgs of fireworks going off and lighting up the night sky as they waited for the traffic to clear.

Watch the viral video

VIDEO: A tractor-trailer carrying a large amount of fireworks caught fire overnight, igniting the #fireworks - shut... t.co/3s5r1jZ3NM

-- ANI (@ANI) Jun 27, 2022

However, the hold-up lasted way too long for anyone's liking as not a single lane opened up until 5 am.

It was only by 8 am Monday that two lanes started moving while traffic remained heavy, according to officials. The cause of the fire remains under investigation and no injuries were reported. The New Jersey incident was not a one-off case of fire on a truck igniting fireworks.

In November last year, a U-Haul truck carrying fireworks in the state of Ohio went up in flames and sent the explosives in all directions, injuring three people.

An unidentified person is said to have thrown a large firecracker into the truck.