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2024 Bruce Highway explosion

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Truck explosion in Queensland, Australia

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. The cause of the crash is under investigation.

The mushroom cloud produced by the explosion.

The truck was transporting 42.5 tonnes of ammonium nitrate, a highly explosive fertiliser. 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. First responders ordered an evacuation of a 2.5 kilometre radius of the crash, and decided to not extinguish the fire because of the inherent risk.

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. A mushroom cloud rose into the sky and the explosion threw debris 50 metres.

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

See also

References

  1. ^ 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. ^ 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. ^ "One dead as chemical truck crash causes massive explosion". 7NEWS. 2024-08-29. Retrieved 2024-08-31.
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