Fuel tanker crashes and explodes
A tanker carrying 15,850 gallons of unleaded petrol crashed and exploded in a huge fireball in the southern area of the Australian city of Sydney early today, firefighters said.
Nobody was seriously injured.
The fuel tanker crashed in the early hours of the morning, bringing down electricity cables which are believed to have ignited the spilled fuel.
New South Wales Fire Brigade superintendent Glen Sheedy said a fireball up to 165 feet high set fire to nearby shops and apartments as well as a number of parked cars.
The tanker driver and 10 residents of the damaged apartments were treated for minor injuries.
The cause of the crash was not immediately known.
Firefighters remained near the crash scene today trying to ensure that fuel not burned in the fireball did not escape into the drains, which lead to local rivers and the ocean.
“Bearing in mind that the tanker was carrying 15,850 gallons of fuel ... it is believed that a substantial amount has gone into the drainage system,” Sheedy told ABC radio.
