Five people are killed and five are seriously-injured after toxic truck carrying AMMONIA overturns in Illinois: Dead include adult and two young children from same family

Five people were killed and five others seriously injured when a toxic truck carrying ammonia overturned in Illinois.

The hazardous substance leaked from the truck’s cargo and caused a mass evacuation of hundreds of local residents in Teutopolis, officials said Saturday.

The truck was carrying corrosive anhydrous ammonia and collapsed around 9:25 am on Friday evening. According to the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, the resulting runoff totaled more than half of the vehicle’s 7,500-gallon load.

Effingham County Coroner Kim Rhoades revealed after the spill that the tragedy left three people from the same family — an adult and two children under the age of 12 — dead.

Rhodes added that the other two fatalities involved out-of-state drivers, and five other people were taken to the hospital.

The names of those killed or killed in the accident have not been released by authorities.

At a press conference Saturday morning, Effingham County Sheriff Paul Kuhns said emergency crews worked on the scene Saturday night and saw a large plume of the leak billowing into the air.

First responders also reportedly had difficulty gaining access to the crash site.

“We have many brave firefighters, EMTs, hazmat specialists and police officers working on this scene right now,” Kuhns said.