Tanker carrying liquid ammonia overturns in Thane

MPCB officials said samples have been collected from the spot and investigation is on.

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At the accident site on Sunday. (Source: Express Photo by Deepak Joshi)

A tanker carrying compressed liquid ammonia skid off the Mumbra Bypass road and toppled, releasing large amounts of ammonia early Sunday morning. Fire brigade and disaster management cell officials rushed to the spot and diluted the gas by spraying water on it all day.

According to police officials, the driver lost control of the tanker while taking a turn on a narrow road to avoid collision with an incoming truck and fell into a 14-feet-deep gutter. The tanker, which was coming from Gujarat and was on its way to Taloja, overturned 100 metre away from the toll naka around 3 am on Sunday.

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“The tanker was carrying 14,850 kg ammonia. As the truck crashed, gas began leaking from it. The Mumbra Fire Brigade, Thane Municipal Corporation’s rescue team and a rescue team from the company to which the gas was being delivered, Deepak Fertilizers, immediately began pouring water over it. The gas was subdued and no one was hurt. The driver escaped and the gas did not spread. The spot is on the highway with scattered slums around the area,” said assistant police inspector S P Bendre, Mumbra police station.

The 24-year-old driver, Ashok Kumar Dubey, has been taken into police custody.

The tanker was owned by Kalamboli-based VK Transline transports, said police. Officials said the situation was under control and it would take a day’s time to pull the tanker out of the tunnel.

Meanwhile, officials from the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) said samples have been collected from the spot and investigation is on.

mumbai.newsline@expressindia.com

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