At around 1:30 PM yesterday, a tanker truck fully-loaded with 49
tons of gasoline additive overturned and plunged into a 2-meter
deep ditch along the Beijing-Tianjin-Tangshan highway, 24
kilometers from downtown Beijing. The accident resulted in a leak
of all the chemical fuels and caused a 10-kilometer-long traffic
jam and possible pollution to 80 mus (5.3 hectares) of vineyards
beside the highway.
After five hours of emergency rescue, the leak was stopped and
the area protected from possible explosion or fire; the truck has
since been removed from the site.
The truck driver, surnamed Dou, suffered a broken bone in his
left arm and was sent to the hospital by ambulance, where he
arrived at about 4:00 PM. Dou said he was driving at a speed of 70
kilometers per hour (about 43
mph) when the truck was suddenly hit by a car,
forcing him to turn right and veer off the highway.
An offensive strong odor could be smelled at the site, according
to a Beijing Times reporter, who arrived shortly after the
accident.
The fire brigade, 3 fire engines and 20 firefighters, arrived at
the spot at 1:48 PM. The gas-masked firefighters sprayed water over
the truck to dilute the chemical and then plugged the two round
holes at the top of the truck, where the brownish-yellow liquids
were leaking.
Traffic police temporarily closed the section of the highway for
a cleanup, but this caused a 10-kilometer-long traffic jam on the
highway. At around 6:30 PM, two cranes were employed to lift the
tank and remove the truck.
Villagers who live nearly heard the news and rushed to the site.
They were worried about whether the chemical will affect their
vineyards, just ten meters away from the leakage site.
A member of the rescue staff at the site said that the chemical
will penetrate underground and will definitely affect the crops or
other farm produce that are planted nearby; furthermore,
underground water may also be polluted. The severity of the
pollution will only be known after further tests and
investigation.
(China.org.cn by Zhang Yunxing, September 12, 2007)
