Tamil Nadu's Tiruvannamalai witnessed a van colliding with a tanker lorry transporting diesel, causing 20,000 litres of the fossil fuel to partially spill on the roads. Locals rushed to collect diesel leaked from the overturned tanker on Sunday morning, Chennai-based media reports said.
The tanker lorry was transporting diesel from Mangaluru to Panruti in Tamil Nadu's Cuddalore district when it met with an accident in Tiruvannamalai around 4:30 am. The driver of the tanker reportedly wanted to overtake a bus on the Tiruvannamalai-Bengaluru National Highway but lost control. The truck rammed into a van approaching from the opposite side near the Periyakolapadi bus stop, news reports said.
In the impact of the collision, the tanker overturned, causing the diesel to spill onto the road, DT Next said in a report.
While the passengers inside the van suffered minor injuries in the accident, the Tiruvannamalai fire and rescue personnel were summoned to the spot. Water cannons were used to wash the diesel-filled road to prevent any untoward incidents.
However, several locals had arrived at the spot by then and collected the leaking diesel in containers, the news report added. The Tiruvannamalai West Police have registered a case and have started investigating the incident.