German Highway Closes for Days

A stretch of Germany's A2 highway could be closed for several days after a truck crashed and burst into flames, damaging a bridge, police said on Friday. "We have no idea how long the closure will last," said a police spokesman said. A transport truck driver apparently lost control of his vehicle in the early hours of Friday morning near Braunschweig on the A2, a major east-west link. The 38-ton truck skidded along a guard rail, then crashed into a sound barrier and burst into flames underneath a highway bridge. The heat from the fire caused large concrete parts of the bridge to crack and fall off. Specialists have stabilized the bridge, but it's not yet clear whether or not it will have to be torn down. The truck driver and his passenger suffered serious injuries, police said.