Massive Ammonia Truck Explosion in Queensland

[kscarbel2]

Australian Broadcasting Corporation / September 7, 2014

Eight men, including a police officer and four firefighters, were injured in an ammonium nitrate truck explosion near Charleville in Queensland's south-west, which police said was so powerful it "disintegrated" the truck, destroyed two firefighting vehicles and two bridges, and blew a hole in the Mitchell Highway.

Two motorists who stopped to help were also injured and the truck driver remains in a critical condition with serious burns and head injuries in the Royal Brisbane Hospital.

Two rescue workers remain in the Toowoomba hospital with serious internal bruising and damage to their ear drums.

Shockwaves from the blast were felt by residents in nearby towns, and the local fire chief described the fact no-one died as "a miracle".

The site of the explosion is still too unsafe for authorities to enter, Queensland Fire and Rescue Service (QFRS) says.

A two-kilometre exclusion zone remains in place at the scene of the blast, which occurred after a truck carting more than 50 tonnes of ammonium nitrate crashed and rolled about 10:00pm (AEST) on Friday.

"We still actually believe we've got a little pocket of ammonium nitrate burning, so that in itself, with the fumes that'll come from that burning process, still indicates we've got an unstable situation," said Tom Dawson, the Assistant Fire Commissioner for the south-west region.

"It's going to be a very scientific call to say it is now stable, then we'll go about it very guardedly to go closer to determine the degree of safety.

"We now believe a lot of the product is actually buried under earth."

Assistant Fire Commissioner Dawson said the devastation from the explosion was immense.

"We're talking up to two to three kilometres of damage to foliage, structures, the rail bridge, the bridge itself," he said.

Police said motorists should avoid the area while specialist officers examine the scene.

A 600-kilometre detour is in place.

Workplace Health and Safety officers would conduct their own investigation into the explosion.

The owner of the truck, Kalari, said it was deeply saddened that people were injured in the explosion and that their welfare was the company's priority.

In a statement, Kalari said it had stopped the service route pending more information about the incident.

The Queensland Trucking Association (QTA) said the road damage would cause big problems for the national transport and heavy vehicle industry, as the Mitchell Highway connected several states.

"My understanding is they expect to have up - in a fairly short space of time - a side track, but that will only be suitable to motor vehicles; it will not be suitable to heavy vehicles," said QTA spokesman Peter Garske.

"It could be quite some days before a route in and around the Mitchell highway for heavy vehicles [is available].

"It will conceivably be weeks or months before the infrastructure is properly restored to its original condition."

Mr Garske said the accident was a warning to companies hauling dangerous goods.

He said the extent of the damage would resonate in the industry.

"It is a wake-up call to everybody in the industry - whether it is a heavy vehicle owner or whether it is a heavy vehicle driver or indeed the customers, the owners of the freight, the consignors the consignees - we all have a responsibility in the safe movement of heavy vehicles in Australia and the safe carriage of the freight," he said.

Mr Garske said he had never seen an accident like it in Australia.

"I have been involved in this industry for 20 years now and to my knowledge an incident of this type and this size has not occurred anywhere in this state and to the best of my knowledge Australia in that 20 years," he said.

Firefighters said the damage and destruction caused by the truck explosion was rare.

Assistant Fire Commissioner Dawson said trucks hauled dangerous chemicals and fuels on Australian roads every day and it was not a problem unless they crashed.

"This product - and trucks like this very same truck - travel these roads every day," he said.

"Every day they're out there and they don't go bang.

"Something's happened to bring this truck in a situation, which has possibly mixed the product on the back of the truck - maybe with the diesel fuel, the impact of the initial [crash] when it goes off the road - so those circumstances have had more of a connection to the end result.

"You'd be surprised - there's a lot of these trucks - they do it very safely and very effectively.

"It's when they leave the road there is a problem."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6BmL-75BgRI#t=73

[gearhead204]

boy don't show that to any terrorists, we will never buy a pound of fertilizer again!

[Green Dash]

boy don't show that to any terrorists, we will never buy a pound of fertilizer again!

Sure you will. And I doubt it will be any harder to get than ammo.

[fxfymn]

Thoughts and prayers to the folks who are injured.

Ammonium nitrate is one of those items that can be quite difficult to deal with as a first responder. Unless it is contained and shocked, or on fire, it is not especially hazardous, but as history has shown when the right conditions exist it is one of the most lethal explosives around. The Grand Campe explosion in Texas City, the Oklahoma City bombing of the Murrah building, and the West Fertilizer plant in West,, TX are all examples of the power of Ammonium Nitrate.

Unfortunately a lot of first responders aren't willing to watch it burn without taking action to try to suppress the fire. It's a gamble a lot of folks have lost.

[mrsmackpaul]

fellas here is a link to a forum site in Australia that are disscusing this

http://www.hcvc.com.au/forum/YaBB.pl?num=1409971833/0#0

its a big mess and repair job

Paul

[GreenGiant2]

Wow