2024 Bruce Highway explosion

On 30 August 2024, near Bororen, Queensland, a utility vehicle crashed head-on with a truck transporting 42.5 tonnes of ammonium nitrate which exploded.

A photo released by the Queensland Police Service of the wreckage.

Incident

At approximately 5:10 am AEST, a utility vehicle collided head-on with a truck transporting 42.5 tonnes of ammonium nitrate near Bororen, Queensland approximately 400 kilometres north of Brisbane, killing the driver of the utility vehicle and seriously injuring the truck driver.[1][2] The cause of the crash is under investigation.[3]

The mushroom cloud produced by the explosion.

The truck was transporting 42.5 tonnes of ammonium nitrate, a highly explosive fertiliser.[4] Following the crash the truck caught fire and the driver was pulled from the truck by bystanders. Ammonium nitrate leaked onto the Bruce Highway, a major highway in Queensland.[5] First responders ordered an evacuation of a 2.5 kilometre radius of the crash,[3] and decided to not extinguish the fire because of the inherent risk.[5]

The ammonium nitrate exploded at 9:40 am AEST causing a shockwave that was felt as far as Gladstone, 55 kilometres away from the site.[5] A mushroom cloud rose into the sky and the explosion threw debris 50 metres.[1]

There were no casualties from the explosion. There was minor damage to powerlines in the area and some spot fires.[5] The truck driver was airlifted to hospital.[1]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c Strohfeldt, Catherine (2024-08-30). "Driver dies after trailer of chemicals explodes in Bruce Highway crash". Brisbane Times. Retrieved 2024-08-31.
  2. ^ "Bruce Highway south of Gladstone to remain closed after truck explosion". ABC News. 2024-08-31. Retrieved 2024-08-31.
  3. ^ a b Media, Q. P. S. (2024-08-30). "Fatal traffic crash, Bororen". Queensland Police News. Retrieved 2024-08-31.
  4. ^ "One driver dead, another in hospital after explosive crash on Bruce Highway in Queensland". The Guardian. Australian Associated Press. 2024-08-30. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2024-08-31.
  5. ^ a b c d "One dead as chemical truck crash causes massive explosion". 7NEWS. 2024-08-29. Retrieved 2024-08-31.