FUEL SPILL SHUT DOWN
Evacuation for Glenvale homes
A FUEL tanker rollover in Glenvale forced the evacuation of residents and triggered a mammoth recovery mission that lasted more than 12 hours yesterday.
POLICE are yet to determine what caused a truck carting 35,000 litres of fuel to roll on a Glenvale thoroughfare early yesterday, locking down part of the busy suburb for more than 12 hours.
The driver of the truck escaped with minor injuries when the prime mover and two fuel tankers toppled on its side across Euston Rd about 5am.
The incident triggered an extensive clean-up operation which ran into last night.
Police evacuated residents within a 500m exclusion zone soon after the incident, with Euston Rd - which serves as a thoroughfare for Westbrook residents and workers in the area - closed to traffic all day.
Queensland Fire and Emergency Services Inspector Peter Bradow said specialist firefighters were deployed to monitor the scene, first blanketing the spilled diesel with foam to stop it leaching into soils and nearby waterways.
About 5900 litres of diesel leaked from a puncture in the rear tanker before firefighters stopped the flow.
The front tanker, carting unleaded fuel, was not ruptured.
Ergon Energy crews cut power to the surrounding area to reduce the risk of sparks or an explosion before QFES crews could ground and bond the remaining diesel before pumping it to another vehicle.
An initial attempt to decant diesel from the trailer failed just after 1.30pm, forcing crews to de-pressurise the tank and drill holes into it.
The truck was expected to be cleared from the roadway about 8pm, with residents returning home about 6pm.