Crash investigators will spend the coming days trying to piece together what led to a fiery multiple-vehicle collision on the M1 Motorway at West Wollongong on Friday that claimed the lives of two people.
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Wollongong police commander, Detective Superintendent Chris Craner said the victims, who are yet to be publicly identified, had been in a car that appeared to have gotten caught between two trucks before bursting into flames in the southbound lane near the Mount Keira Road overpass.
Nine other motorists caught up in the eight-vehicle crash were treated by paramedics.
The accident caused traffic chaos, with all southbound lanes closed and cars diverted for several hours as investigators examined the scene and worked to clear the wreckage.
At a press conference on Friday evening, Supt Craner expressed his condolences to the families of both victims while asking anyone with dashcam footage of the incident or who may have witnessed it to come forward.
"The exact circumstances... we're trying to piece it together, trying to interview people but tragically we have two people who have been incinerated in a motor vehicle," he said.
"The front of [one of the] truck has been incinerated, luckily that driver got out.
"The motor vehicle [caught] between those two trucks is totally destroyed."
Several witnesses were taken to Wollongong Police Station to be interviewed by detectives while some of the drivers were taken to hospital for mandatory blood and alcohol testing.
NSW Ambulance District Inspector Terry Morrow said the collision appeared to have caused the car's fuel tank to rupture, which he said "was probably the ignition source" of the fire.
Ambulance crews arrived on the scene within four minutes and worked with NSW Fire and Rescue crews as they battled to extinguish the "massive blaze", which was so intense it damaged the overhead bridge.
Insp Morrow said it was a tough day for the emergency service workers.
"The chief chaplain from NSW Ambulance came to the scene and he assisted with debriefing all the emergency services [personnel]," he said.
"We don't want to go to these types of accidents...it's an unfortunate accident that has occurred. All our officers are saddened by the death of two people this afternoon."
Meanwhile, roads around the CBD remained clogged for hours after the crash as people tried to avoid the area and make their way home via backstreets.
The traffic also appeared to affect attendance at the Dragons vs Cowboys game at WIN Stadium, with crowd numbers about 3000 down on normal figures.
