Sydney, Aug 30 (IANS) One person died and a town has been evacuated after a truck carrying chemicals crashed and exploded in the Australian state of Queensland on Friday.
Residents of the small town of Bororen were told to leave immediately by Queensland Police after a B-double tanker carrying 42 tons of ammonium nitrate crashed head-on with another vehicle on a nearby highway, causing a major explosion.
The driver of the second vehicle was killed, authorities confirmed, and the truck driver who was pulled out from the vehicle by bystanders shortly before it ignited was airlifted to a hospital with serious abdominal and leg injuries, Xinhua news agency reported.
An exclusion zone was put in place around the site of the crash, with all residents within the zone told to self-evacuate. Those who could not leave were told to shelter indoors, close all windows and doors, and turn off air conditioning units.
Queensland Police Acting Superintendent Mark Burgess said the explosion blast radius was approximately 500 metres.
“Just after 9.40 a.m., a blast was heard and felt and there was a visible large cloud of smoke,” he said at a press conference.
No other people were injured and no property was damaged but power lines were down and spot fires were ignited along a nearby rail corridor.
The Bruce Highway, a major highway linking Brisbane to the far northern city of Cairns, was closed in both directions.
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported that Queensland Fire and Rescue was conducting scientific testing, including atmospheric assessment, at the site of the explosion.
John Hodson-Gilmore from the Queensland Ambulance Service said the first paramedics to arrive at the scene were faced with an extensive damage area.
He said fire crews made the decision not to attempt to extinguish the truck fire shortly before it exploded.
Ammonium nitrate is predominantly used in agriculture as a fertiliser.
–IANS
int/jk/
Disclaimer
The information contained in this website is for general information purposes only. The information is provided by TodayIndia.news and while we endeavour to keep the information up to date and correct, we make no representations or warranties of any kind, express or implied, about the completeness, accuracy, reliability, suitability or availability with respect to the website or the information, products, services, or related graphics contained on the website for any purpose. Any reliance you place on such information is therefore strictly at your own risk.
In no event will we be liable for any loss or damage including without limitation, indirect or consequential loss or damage, or any loss or damage whatsoever arising from loss of data or profits arising out of, or in connection with, the use of this website.
Through this website you are able to link to other websites which are not under the control of TodayIndia.news We have no control over the nature, content and availability of those sites. The inclusion of any links does not necessarily imply a recommendation or endorse the views expressed within them.
Every effort is made to keep the website up and running smoothly. However, TodayIndia.news takes no responsibility for, and will not be liable for, the website being temporarily unavailable due to technical issues beyond our control.
For any legal details or query please visit original source link given with news or click on Go to Source.
Our translation service aims to offer the most accurate translation possible and we rarely experience any issues with news post. However, as the translation is carried out by third part tool there is a possibility for error to cause the occasional inaccuracy. We therefore require you to accept this disclaimer before confirming any translation news with us.
If you are not willing to accept this disclaimer then we recommend reading news post in its original language.