Hyderabad: In what could have led to a potential disaster, and loss of lives, quick damage-control measures by fire personnel reduced the scope of any adverse impact after an oil tanker overturned and spilled around 20,000 litres of diesel on the busy road connecting Tarnaka and Rail Nilayam road.
The high tension in the vicinity was palpable following the mishap at Allugaddabavi around 11.30 am. The Bharat Petroleum tanker was heading from the filling station at Mallapur.
As the diesel was spread all over, people in the surrounding localities were panic-stricken over fears of the fuel getting ignited.
According to fire officer Ajmeera Sreedas, “We received a call between 11.30 and 11.45 am. Fire tenders from three of units at Musheerabad, Malkajgiri and Snorkel rushed to the spot and sprayed chemical foam to defuse the inflaming quality of the oil. Three fire tenders with 18 firefighters took control of the situation.”
K. Krishna, fireman, who was at the spot, said, “We reached the spot within 10 minutes after getting the call. The oil tanker was overturned, the lids on the top were open and oil was all over the road. The lucky part is that no igniting elements came in contact.”
He added, “Nine tins of chemical foam using more than five thousand litres of water was mixed and sprayed over the diesel that had spilled over and on the oil tanker. By 1.30 pm, the situation was under control.”
Ravender Rao, a local, said “It was the negligence of the driver. He must have taken a sharp turn at the signal where a right turn leads to Rail Nilayam road.”
Bala Chinna Reddy, owner of the vehicle, said, “The driver, Chandrasekhar, lost control and the tanker overturned. We have suffered a loss of around Rs 20 lakh.”
