Missing driver after seven-truck fire shuts Hume Highway

Emergency crews are searching for a missing driver after a catastrophic collision involving seven semi-trailers triggered a massive fire and explosions, forcing the closure of the Hume Highway southwest of Goulburn, New South Wales. The crash occurred just after 5 a.m. on Tuesday, June 30, near the Windmills Rest Area in Breadalbane.

According to fire officials, two trucks collided while traveling northbound and then careered into five other rigs parked at the rest area. The impact ignited a fire that quickly engulfed the vehicles. The flammable cargo carried by several trucks-including eight tonnes of butane cans, resin, memory foam, and alcohol-fuelled intense flames and caused multiple explosions, destroying all seven vehicles.

Six male drivers were treated at the scene for minor injuries by paramedics. Two of those drivers were transported to Goulburn Hospital for mandatory testing. The driver of the seventh truck remains unaccounted for, and a search is ongoing.

More than 40 firefighters from Fire and Rescue NSW, supported by hazardous materials units and Rural Fire Service crews, responded to the scene. They established a 300-meter exclusion zone around the crash site due...