Accident involving 28 vehicles on German motorway due to tyre damage

A sudden tyre defect on a moving lorry on the A9 motorway in central Germany led to a major accident involving 28 vehicles.

A spokesman for the motorway police said it was remarkable that no one was injured in the accident in the Saale-Orla district of the state of Thuringia.

"The scale was not an everyday occurrence," he said of the accident.

The lorry driver was travelling on Friday evening between the Bad Lobenstein and Schleiz junctions when a tyre suddenly became damaged, and tyre parts were flung across the carriageway.

Twenty-seven vehicles, including cars and other lorries, collided with the tyre parts, the spokesman said. How the original tyre damage on the lorry occurred is still unclear.

The motorway police estimated the damage at approximately €150,000 ($177,127).

The motorway was closed for several hours following the accident, extending into the night.