Driver injured as tanker laden with palm oil overturns
TUARAN: A male driver was injured after his Scania tanker carrying 20,000 litres of palm oil overturned at Km 25.7, Jalan Tamparuli-Ranau near Kampung Bongol yesterday.
Tuaran police chief DSP Dzulbaharin Ismail said that the incident occurred around 8.30am while the tanker was heading to Kota Kinabalu from Sandakan.
“After passing through a corner at Kampung Bongol, the 38-year- old driver of the has lost control before crashing into the right side of the road and hitting a road shoulder cliff,” he added.
The lorry then fell on the right side of the road, which caused the driver to suffer injuries to his left leg, face and right hand.
Civilians at the scene then took the driver out of the tanker and sent him to the hospital for treatment.
Investigations revealed that the driver’s carelessness had caused him to lose control of the vehicle which then crashed into the right side of the road as the palm oil spilled all over the road.
Meanwhile head of Tuaran Fire and Rescue Station ( BPP) Qawie Gapar said upon receiving the call, he dispatched hits team to the scene, which was 60km away.The firemen then proceeded to wipe out the palm oil on the road to enable vehicles to pass through.
“The owner of a lorry company that was based in Sepanggar was also called to the scene to paste tank leaks to avoid more oil spills,” Qawie added.
The operation, which ended at 9.55am, acquired the help of nine firefighters from BBP Tuaran and six firefighters from BBP Kota Belud as well as two machines .