Nebo Queensland: Massive blaze closes Peak Downs highway after semi-trailer carrying 50,000 litres of diesel explodes
A truck driver made a miraculous escape late on Friday evening when the B-double fuel tanker carrying 50,000 liters of diesel he was driving exploded in a blazing fire.
The fire, which happened on the Peak Downs Highway near Nebo, Queensland at around 10.40pm on Friday evening, burned so intensely that it damaged the road, causing the highway to be closed.
Cattle in a nearby field in the rural area almost 1,000km north of Brisbane also luckily escaped the flames.
Owner Kaiz-Anne Bryan heard the explosion – so loud it could be heard up to 6 miles away – coming from the truck and saw the resulting fireball that exploded just outside her home.
“I thought, oh my God, what was that,” she told the station Daily Mercury newspaper on Saturday morning.
A truck driver made a miraculous escape late on Friday evening when the B-double fuel tanker carrying 50,000 liters of diesel he was driving exploded in a blazing fire (photo)
The police suspect that a brake failure of the B-double caused the fire.
“The truck went past me… they had the brakes on,” Ms Bryan said.
She saw flames coming from the rear trailer and when she heard a second ‘huge’ explosion, she called triple 0.
Ms. Bryan then began calling her neighbors in case the fire spread to a nearby cattle pasture.
Five firefighters – some from Mackay, 40 minutes away – contained the blaze as they and other property owners on either side of the highway remained alert in case the blaze spread to their homes, livestock or property.
Fortunately, the fire did not spread to homes or properties and light rain helped extinguish the fire.
“We were so lucky that it was a quiet night… even the smoke went straight up,” Ms Bryan told the Mercury.
Almost unbelievably, no one was injured in the fire and the driver was able to disconnect the truck from the trailers.
The fire eventually died out as there was no diesel left and crews then focused on cooling the remains of the truck and the highway, the Queensland Fire and Emergency Service said.
Queensland Police said heavy vehicles were diverted through the Sarina Range, while light vehicles were able to maneuver around the crash site once the fire was under control.
Efforts are now underway to assess and repair damage to the road, which could lead to a lengthy closure of that section of the highway.
Cattle in a nearby field in the rural area almost 1,000km north of Brisbane also had a lucky escape from the flames (pictured)