Fiery Wyoming tunnel crash kills at least 2, closes I-80 in both directions

GREEN RIVER, Wyo. — A fiery pileup Friday at an Interstate 80 tunnel in southwestern Wyoming killed at least two people, seriously injured at least five others and shut down the highway.

The crash involved an unknown number of trucks and other vehicles inside and outside the tunnel at Green River. Black smoke and exploding tires made getting inside difficult for rescuers, Wyoming Highway Patrol trooper Nicholas Warren said.

The crash in the twin tunnel's westbound tube late Friday morning closed the highway in both directions, with still no estimate by late afternoon when it would reopen. Highway traffic was being rerouted through Green River.

A statement from nearby Memorial Hospital of Sweetwater County urged people not to visit unless they had an emergency or family in the “mass casualty” wreck. Hospital spokeswoman Lena Warren said she did not know yet how many victims were admitted.

The quarter-mile (400-meter) tunnel goes under Castle Rock, a sandstone formation that stands over Green River, the Sweetwater County seat of 11,500 people.