By Noaki Schwart
The Associated Press

SANTA CLARITA, Calif. — Firefighters and highway workers Sunday searched for bodies and worked to remove charred debris from a freeway tunnel north of Los Angeles after a fiery pileup that killed three people and could keep the major interstate highway shut down for days.

The crash late Friday involved five to six big tractor-trailer trucks and several passenger cars and sent people fleeing for their lives from the flaming tunnel. At least five of the trucks burst into flames, and the fire spread to the other vehicles. Ten people were injured.

"It looked like a bomb went off," said Los Angeles County firefighter Scott Clark, one of about 300 firefighters who battled the blaze through the night.

Firefighters feared they could find more bodies as they hauled out debris, and hoped to finish the search by Sunday morning, said Deputy Fire Chief John Tripp.

Firefighters began hauling debris out of the tunnel Saturday. Officials hope to reopen the southbound lanes of Interstate 5 by Tuesday morning, but they have been hampered by small lingering fires and concern about how many repairs will have to be made for the tunnel to be safe for the public.

"Our goal is to get the roadway open as quickly as possible," said Will Kempton, director of the California Department of Transportation.

The bodies of two crash victims were found in the tunnel early Saturday and a third was found later in the day. The dead were two adult males and one child, said Los Angeles County Fire Inspector Jason Hurd. Hurd did not know the exact ages of any of the three.

County coroner's investigator Kelly Yagerlener said it could be several days before the names of the dead were released.

Ten other people suffered minor to moderate injuries.

Firefighters could find more bodies as they explored the charred tunnel. They hope to finish the search by Sunday morning, said Tripp.

The pileup in the southbound truck tunnel of Interstate 5 began about 11 p.m. Friday when two big rigs collided on the rain-slickened highway about 30 miles (50 kilometers) north of downtown Los Angeles. As crashes continued throughout the 550-foot(168-meter)-long tunnel, five tractor-trailers burst into flames, and the fire quickly spread.

"There was an accident in front of me. I come to a stop and then they just start hitting me, one right after another," trucker Tony Brazil told reporters at the crash site.

"A couple drivers come over the top of the truck and (said), 'Get out of here, let's get out of here,' so I got my wallet and my phone and I was able to squeeze between that truck there and the wall," Brazil said.

The cause of the crash is being investigated.

The pileup snarled traffic for miles (kilometers) in all directions as motorists had to navigate neighborhood streets and mountain roads to get around the wreck. It took an hour to travel 100 yards (90 meters) on one street just down the hill from the crash.

Interstate 5 is a key route connecting Southern and Northern California, as well as a major commuter link between Los Angeles and its northern suburbs. The affected stretch of freeway carries about 225,000 vehicles a day, and there are likely to be huge traffic jams in the area if it is still closed when people return to work Monday.

The tunnel, built in the 1970s, and its mix of curves and darkness has long been regarded by truckers as one of the most dangerous areas of the freeway.

"There's kind of a blind spot, so if you boogie around the bend too fast and there's somebody stopped in the tunnel, it'll be 'boom-boom-boom', Arthur Johnson, 45, of Buckeye Arizona, told the Los Angeles Times.

Truck driver Fausto Angelino said he has been driving that stretch of road for 23 years.

"I hold my breath every time," he said.

At the crash site Saturday, the charred skeletons of a few big rigs peeked out of the tunnel's south end. At least one was carrying produce, and a smoldering load of cabbage lay on the pavement. A pile of scorched truck debris protruded from a tunnel wall.

As the fire spread Friday night, flames shot out of both ends of the tunnel, rising as high as 100 feet (30 meters) into the air, firefighters at the scene said.