Crash investigators examine Sydney fuel tanker explosion

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/oct/02/crash-investigators-sydney-tanker-explosion

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Crash investigators on Sydney's northern beaches will spend the day interviewing witnesses and examining the charred remains of a fuel tanker and four cars involved in a fatal accident.

Police say the tanker that overturned and exploded into a fireball on Tuesday appears to have lost control before slamming into a power pole and four cars.

Acting Superintendent Mark Cook from the Traffic and Highway Patrol Command says investigations are under way into the accident on Mona Vale Road which killed two men, aged 71 and 73, who were in one of the cars.

Cook says it appears the deaths were due to the explosion rather than the collision.

The cause of the accident was not yet known, he said.

"At this stage what we do know is the tanker was driving east on Mona Vale Road and it appears to have lost control," he told ABC radio.

"The tanker's ended up on its side and fuel was poured on the roadway and it's caught fire, igniting the cars."

"There's no preliminary view of what might have happened."

Investigators would talk to witnesses, examine the vehicles and the scene and consider a number of possibilities, he said.

"Was there any speed involved? Was there anything to do with the road? Was there anything to do with the vehicles?"

The Transport Information Centre was advising motorists to avoid Mona Vale Road, which remains closed in both directions between Pittwater Road and Ponderosa Parade.

There was no indication when the road would reopen.

Inspector Ian Krimmer from NSW Fire and Rescue said an earth dam was being dug around the truck to capture any of the remaining fuel likely to spill as efforts were made to right the tanker within the next hour.

About 18,000 litres of fuel had been removed from the truck but 300 litres remained, he said.

The main issue for crews was cleaning up fuel that had escaped into local drains and that could take several days, he said.

The drains were flushed with foam to suppress vapours and the fuel was contained to within what was believed to be a 1.5km radius.

The massive explosion was probably caused by a spark igniting the spilled fuel, Krimmer said.

"When the tanker rolled over ... one of the compartments has obviously ruptured," he said.

"As the tanker sped along the ground you've got metal on road surface, most likely a friction spark ignited the fuel."

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