Shock new vision has shown the extent of the damage after a powerful chemical explosion was caused by a ute slamming into a truck on an already extremely dangerous highway.
The head-on crash on the Bruce Highway in central Queensland killed the ute driver and spilled ammonium nitrate – a volatile chemical which triggered a fiery explosion and left a huge crater.
The driver of the B-double tanker – which was carrying 42tonnes of the chemical used in industrial applications and as fertiliser – is in a stable condition in Bundaberg Hospital, with abdominal, leg, pelvic, head and arm injuries.
Police said 49 locals self-evacuated from the remote area and a 2.5-kilometre exclusion zone remained in place at Bororen, north of Miriam Vale, 475km north of Brisbane.
Capricornia District Officer Acting Superintendent Mark Burgess said emergency services remained at the scene of the crash, which happened just after 5am on Friday.
‘Just after 9.40am, a blast was heard and felt and there was a visible large cloud of smoke,’ he said.
‘Emergency services were able to review the scene by use of a drone that indicated several spot fires along the rail corridor.’
He said the blast radius was about 500metres.
The head-on crash on the Bruce Highway in central Queensland left the ute driver dead and spilled ammonium nitrate, which triggered a fiery explosion and left a huge crater (pictured)
The two vehicles crashed at Bororen (pictured) on the Bruce Highway just after 5am on Friday
It is the third serious crash involving trucks on the Bruce Highway in the same region this week.
On Tuesday, a 29-year-old truck driver died in a five-truck pile-up at Gindoran that closed the highway for almost 24 hours.
On Thursday, a man in his 20s was injured in a truck rollover at Colosseum near Miriam Vale, prompting politicians and trucking industry bodies to call for major upgrades and investments into the highway.
Two ambulances that were dispatched to the scene also crashed.
Though there was one death and one serious injury in Friday’s crash, no people were injured and no personal property was damaged in the later explosion, although some powerlines were down.
Queensland Fire and Rescue is undertaking scientific testing, including atmospheric assessment, and the area is not yet safe for residents to return home.
Miriam Vale resident Lee Pennell said she heard the explosion.
‘There was a huge explosion,’ she told the ABC. ‘I live 14kilometres south of Miriam Vale and our house shook from that explosion.’
The caravan parking area in Miriam Vale was starting to fill up and the local Country Women’s Association had opened a hall in town to help stranded travellers, she said.
Gladstone Council is working with emergency services, the SES and the state department of Transport and Main Roads to redirect traffic.
Road closures are in place on the highway at the north end of Tannum Sands Road and the south end of Blackmans Gap Road.
‘Gladstone Regional Council will prepare the Miriam Vale Community Centre as a place of refuge if required,’ the council stated.
A Queensland Rail spokesperson said its train service between Bororen and Iveragh was closed and buses will be used instead.
Queensland Ambulance Service acting senior operations supervisor, John Hodson-Gilmore, said the highway will probably be closed for an extended period due to the damage from the explosion.
‘The Queensland fire department, under the guidance of Queensland Police aerial footage, had decided not to approach the scene,’ Mr Hodson-Gilmore said in a statement.
Shock new vision has shown the extent of the damage (pictured) caused after a massive chemical explosion caused by a ute slamming into a truck on an extremely dangerous highway
The ammonium nitrate explosion produce a huge plume of smoke (pictured)
Residents within a 2.5kilometre exclusion zone of the crash site (pictured) were told to leave
‘Approximately 15 minutes later … the smaller tanker full of product had actually exploded … There is significant debris across the highway.’
Queensland Premier Steven Miles denied claims funding for the highway had stalled.
‘We have $6billion allocated to projects on the Bruce at the moment, I don’t think you can characterise that as stalled,’ he said.
‘Some industry commentators would say that’s more than our construction industry can currently sustain so we are investing a lot.’
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