Firefighting crews in Colorado had to work for hours to pump out 7,000 gallons of petrol after a large tanker got in a multiple-vehicle crash and got stuck mid-highway.

A safety closure was put in place on Interstate 70 in Glenwood Canyon after four commercial vehicles crashed, with a gasoline-carrying tanker blocking the way.

Aerial footage shows firefighters from the Glenwood Springs Fire Department joining special response teams to pump out fuel from the tanker before it could be moved.

The fire department said in a statement obtained by Newsflash: “During today’s [Tue] extended incident in the Glenwood Canyon, we worked alongside Eagle County Hazardous Materials Response Team and Colorado State Patrol Hazardous Materials Team to offload gasoline from a damaged tank trailer.”

Crews worked as quickly and safely as possible to remove the vehicles.

The large tanker which was involved in the crash had reportedly spilt 3,000 gallons of petrol on the road.

The spill has been stopped, with hazardous vehicle crews carefully overseeing the entire clean-up.

In order to clear the crash, crews reportedly drained the remaining 7,000 gallons of petrol from the tanker into a second one.

Meanwhile, motorists were re-directed onto alternate routes until the fuel transfer was completed and the tanker removed.

The Colorado Department of Transportation urged travellers to “know before you go” and check on the latest weather reports before getting on the roads.