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MELBOURNE - Three people are dead after a crash led to an explosion and fire in Melbourne's busy cross-city Burnley Tunnel this morning, authorities said.
The collision between four trucks and three cars deep inside the tunnel forced the evacuation of hundreds of motorists from both the Burnley and Domain tunnels shortly after 10am AEDT (11am NZ time).
Metropolitan Fire Brigade spokesman David Mann confirmed three people had died.
The 3.4km long Burnley tunnel -- which passes under the Yarra River to bypass the CBD - joins West Gate Freeway with the Monash Freeway.
"We have had confirmation there are three deceased," Mr Mann told AAP.
"From the people who are down there, the firefighters did confirm that there was three (dead)."
Mr Mann said diesel was still leaking from one of the trucks involved in the crash.
The fire in the tunnel was brought under control at 11.14am (12.14pm NZ time) and had since been since extinguished, said Mr Mann.
At least 60 firefighters were called to the incident.
"The good thing is that the emergency plans that were put in place worked very well," he said.
Motorists entering the tunnel after the incident were advised to abandon their vehicles and walk out.
Black smoke poured out of smoke stacks above the tunnels and traffic was gridlocked.
Victoria Police Inspector Glenn Weir said it is unknown exactly how the accident occurred, but several vehicles were involved.
"Two trucks have collided with one of the cars in a nose to tail situation, that car has then caught fire," he told reporters earlier.
Police were speaking to a truck driver, he added.
Everyone was evacuated from the tunnel people were being registered at the scene to ensure they were accounted for.
Mr Little said the tunnel ventilation system appeared to work well and no-one seemed to be seriously affected by smoke or fumes.
A truck driver who spoke to Southern Cross Broadcasting said he had stopped in traffic about 1km inside the tunnel when he heard two explosions.
"I'd been sitting there a couple of minutes, the next thing there was an explosion further down in the tunnel and the car shook and about 50 seconds later there was another one," the man, identified as John, said.
"The next thing we were told to evacuate and leave our keys in the car and I turned around and walked out."
A taxi driver, identified as Cliff, told the radio station he was among several hundred people evacuated from the King Street end of the tunnel.
He said overhead signs instructed drivers to stop and turn their engines off.
"Then came the announcement that we had to evacuate the tunnel, we just walked out, slowly walked out. And here we are now, a couple of hundred of us," he told Southern Cross Broadcasting.
"It was fairly orderly, everyone was pretty cool actually."
- AAP
