LPG tanker overturns on Coimbatore flyover, officials avert major mishap
The tanker driver who sustained minor injuries alerted the fire and rescue department who rushed to the spot and sprayed water where leakage was noticed
An LPG-filled tanker overturned after it got detached from a truck on Friday in Tamil Nadu’s Coimbatore district which led to a minor leak, officials familiar with the matter said, adding that the district officials had cordoned off the flyover the tanker was on and diverted traffic.
The tanker driver who sustained minor injuries alerted the fire and rescue department who rushed to the spot and sprayed water where leakage was noticed. “The leak has been completely controlled,” said district collector Kranti Kumar Pati.
He further said that the tanker was removed from the flyover in less than four hours and traffic was restored. As precaution, the district declared a holiday for about 35 schools within a 500-metre to one kilometre radius.
The tanker was coming from Kochi in Kerala to Coimbatore to an LPG bottling plant owned by Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited’s (BPCL). “The tanker was carrying 18 tonnes of LPG,” said Coimbatore City Police Commissioner A Saravana Sundar.
Immediately after the truck driver informed about the mishap, police arrived at the spot and the fire service and rescue personnel sprayed water on the tanker. “Since the tanker was loaded with LPG, it could not be uplifted immediately. Our top priority was to arrest the leak,” Pati said.
Officials from the BPCL, IOCL, and industries safety officials and technical experts also reached the location and arrested the leak.
With PTI inputs