WATCH: Burning transmission tower collapses onto expressway

There was traffic chaos on the South Luzon Expressway (SLEx) yesterday (Wednesday, April 19) after a fire caused a transmission tower to collapse onto the road.

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The blaze in Muntinlupa City broke out in a 400-square-metre residential compound near the northbound Alabang exit plaza, said city information officer Tez Navarro.

No one was reported injured in the fire, which broke out during the morning rush hour.

The heat from the flames, however, caused the collapse of the Biñan-Muntinlupa 230-kilovolt transmission tower of the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines which loomed over the compound where 80 families lived.

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With the tower and its cable wires looming over the expressway, the northbound and southbound lanes of the Alabang viaduct were closed to vehicles.

As a result, heavy traffic was reported on SLEx.

In a statement, the national grid said the heat from the blaze weakened the tower’s foundations but there was no power interruption due to back-ups being in place.

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According to the official Twitter account of SLEx, the Alabang viaduct was reopened to traffic by 10.30am.

The northbound Alabang exit plaza, however, will remain closed until the collapsed tower is removed.