MALAPPURAM: A major fire disaster was averted in Tanur after aviation turbine fuel (ATF) leaked from an overturned oil tanker and caught fire on Thursday. The ATF, which spilled and gushed through a nearby open drainage caught fire about 500 meters away from the spot where the tanker had turned turtle. A house was damaged partially in the fire and a bike was gutted completely.
A car parked in the house also sustained minor damage. Nobody was hurt in the fire. The tanker from Ernakulam was on its way to Calicut International Airport to supply the jet fuel. According to the police, the accident took place around 4 am when the driver who escaped with minor injuries tried to avoid a collision with another vehicle in the wee hours of Thursday. It is assumed that careless use of fire by nearby residents might have caused the fire, the police said. A team of the National Disaster Response Force also reached the spot to supervise the rescue operations.
The ATF which gushed in large quantities for hours through the drainage spilled into Canolly Canal contaminating the water. The fuel caught fire with a minor explosion after its flow to the canal was thwarted by local residents. Electricity supply was also hit. Some of the nearby trees went up in flames. Residents from nearby houses ran away to safety.
Firefighters from five stations in the district reached the spot and brought the fire under control. The remaining oil in the tanker was later transferred to another vehicle by firemen. The Fire Force team's timely intervention helped to avert a major fire in the thickly populated area.s
