Bengaluru: Chemical laden truck topples, triggers panic

Bengaluru: A 14-tonne tanker, loaded with an acidic, volatile and dangerous chemical, overturned on NICE Road on Tuesday evening, creating panic among commuters and nearby villagers and causing a major traffic pile-up between Kengeri and Tumakuru road.

The tanker, bearing the registration number MP-09-HG-1610 and heading to Chennai from Indore, was loaded with Thionyl Chloride. Soon after the heavy truck overturned, fire services rushed to the spot with two fire tenders and cordoned off the area. The accident occurred around 4 pm, about 1.5 km from Kengeri. The driver lost control and the vehicle’s wheels ran into the 2-foot storm water drain in the middle of NICE Road before the truck overturned. The driver, Satish, from Madhya Pradesh, was said to be inebriated at the time of accident, and escaped with minor injuries, fire officers said.

“Because of the impact, the truck’s pipelines got damaged and the chemical started running on the road. We used sand and dry powder extinguishers to prevent the volatile chemical from catching fire,” said District Fire Officer Shivanegowda. “If we had used water, the chemical would have reacted and given out poisonous fumes, which could have been fatal. The pungent smell spread over half a kilometer, forcing us to stop all oncoming vehicles at a distance,” they said.

The Kumbalgodu police, who were informed about the accident, arrived at the spot and managed traffic. Around 9 pm, a team from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) reached the spot and took stock of the situation. The officials apprised their seniors of the situation, took up the salvaging work and ensured that the tanker was safe.

The operation was conducted by the Chemical, Biological, Radioactive and Nuclear (CBRN) combat team of the force. They worked nearly 15 hours before declaring the area safe. “Our teams are on the spot and efforts are being made to shift the tanker to an isolated place and render it safe," said NDRF Director General O.P. Singh from New Delhi.

A senior National Disaster Response Force official said that according to reports from the ground, no loss of life was reported. “The tanker is said to be laden with Thionyl Chloride, a dangerous chemical and NDRF men wearing special counter-chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear protection suits have covered it with sand to contain the fumes.”

While the local police managed the traffic, fire force personnel were busy arranging for tractors and truck loads of sand to dump over the chemical. The salvaging work continued through the night and went on till 1 pm on Wednesday. Around 4 pm, the fire personnel and the police moved the toppled truck away using a crane and cleared the road.

Driver was drunk
The Kumbalgodu police have taken up only a nuisance case against the driver of the truck, Satish. He was drunk, said fire officials who reached the spot within 10 minutes of the accident. The police had not even conducted a medical examination on Satish. The 14-tonne tanker, laden with the dangerous chemical, was driven in rashly. The absence of a cleaner or a helper in the truck raises questions about the safety standards adopted by truck companies. If the truck had toppled in a crowded area, the tragedy would have been unimaginable, experts said. The police said the truck was on its way to Chennai to a chemical tablet factory.

What is Thionyl Chloride
Thionyl Chloride is a moderately volatile colourless liquid with an unpleasant acrid odour. Thionyl chloride is primarily used as a chlorinating reagent. It is toxic and will react violently with water to produce toxic gases. It is mainly used in
manufacturing lithium batteries domestically.

Fog triggers fumes
As the NDRF combat team got busy with the salvaging work, the police and firemen stood guard around the toppled truck and ensured that the spilled thionyl chloride did not come in contact with water. The officials continued to dump continued sand around the spot. But early on Wednesday morning, water particles in the fog reacted with the chemical and gave out fumes of an acrid smoke, said District Fire Officer Shivanegowda. Later when the sun came up, the fumes stopped.