A routine commute on the Moyenne Corniche turned hazardous on the morning of Wednesday, September 10 after a construction vehicle left a long trail of diesel across the road in Cap-d’Ail, sending four two-wheel riders crashing to the ground. The incident, first reported by Monaco Matin, occurred shortly after 7:00 between the Rainier-III tunnel and Avenue du Général-de-Gaulle.
According to the Menton gendarmerie, a heavy goods vehicle linked to a nearby housing development leaked fuel over a stretch of roughly 400 metres. Riders approaching the slick had little chance of avoiding it. Four were thrown from their bikes; two required hospitalisation at Monaco’s Princess Grace Hospital while the others sustained lighter injuries.
The Monaco Fire Brigade dispatched ten firefighters and four vehicles to secure the scene, treat the injured, and begin containment. Crews used sand and industrial cleaners to absorb the hydrocarbons before specialists from the Nice Côte d’Azur Metropolis completed the operation. By 11:30, traffic was flowing normally again.
The construction project at the centre of the leak, planned to deliver 17 social housing units, has already provoked criticism for reducing the Corniche to a single lane in places, creating gridlock for commuters leaving Monaco. Wednesday’s spill is likely to add fuel to that debate, even if the immediate injuries were minor.
