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15-Truck Pile-Up in California Highway Tunnel
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Filed at 5:23 p.m. ET

SANTA CLARITA, Calif. (AP) -- The flames abated in a freeway tunnel Saturday where more than a dozen big-rig trucks lost control in the rain, causing a fiery pileup that injured at least 10 people and left one missing, but authorities still couldn't enter it to determine whether anyone died.

The key route connecting Los Angeles and San Francisco remained blocked and was still smoldering more than 14 hours after the wreck.

''It looked like a bomb went off,'' said Los Angeles County firefighter Scott Clark, who battled the blaze throughout the night.

The accident, which left wreckage scattered for at least half a mile, began when two trucks collided about 11 p.m. Friday in a southbound truck tunnel on Interstate 5 about 30 miles north of downtown Los Angeles, said Fire Inspector Jason Hurd.

The crash triggered a pileup involving about 15 big rigs and possibly one or more passenger cars, sending people fleeing for their lives. At least five trucks burst into flames, and the fire spread to the others.

Flames shot out of both ends of the tunnel, rising as high as 100 feet into the air, according to firefighters at the scene. More