Hamburg A7 motorway blocked by massive sewage sludge spill

A truck spilled a significant amount of sewage sludge on the A7 motorway near Hamburg, Germany, on Wednesday morning. The incident began around 5:00 AM in the Stellingen Tunnel when the vehicle's loading flap opened, causing the driver to lose part of the 27-ton cargo over a distance of approximately five kilometers.

The spill resulted in a strong odor of human waste and caused major traffic disruptions. An 11-kilometer traffic jam was reported between Quickborn and Hamburg-Bahrenfeld, with commuters facing delays of at least one hour.

Cleanup crews used excavators to reload much of the sludge and deployed cleaning vehicles to clear the tunnel and roadway. While traffic was eventually allowed to pass in a single lane, intermittent full closures continued throughout the morning to facilitate cleaning operations.