15 TRUCK PILE UP IN CALIFORNIA

A 15-truck pile-up in a Southern California freeway tunnel has left three people dead and about 10 injured .



Witnesses said flames belched 100ft (30 meters) into the night sky from the Interstate 5's trucks-only tunnel after the accident in wet conditions.



The collision left half a mile of wreckage and blocked a key link between Los Angeles and San Francisco. Fire crews said 20 people fled the tunnel on foot, including the injured.



Some 300 firefighters tackled the inferno, with the help of flame-retardant foam. Its intense heat made the concrete crack and melt.



The charred skeletons of five ripped-apart trucks were left crumpled and smoking inside the tunnel.



Firefighters are worried the damage could cause the collapse of the structure, 30 miles (50km) north-west of LA.