Truck loaded with 800 gas cylinders blows up on road in Romania

A truck loaded with some 800 gas cylinders caught fire on a national road near Mihailesti commune, Buzau County, forcing the authorities to close down that road section for several hours. The DN2 national road, which connects Bucharest and southern Romania to the Moldova region, is one of the busiest in the country. The incident occurred on Friday morning, June 10. The fire started after the driver stopped to repair a flat tire and spread to the trailer loaded with 800 gas cylinders which began to blow up. See video below. The authorities decided to evacuate the population on a 500-meter radius. A total of 60 firefighters and eight trucks with water and foam were needed to put out the fire, reports local Digi24. Two ambulances also arrived at the scene, but no casualties were reported. The Prosecutor’s Office from the Buzau Court decided to open an investigation in this case, for negligent destruction and failure to take legal measures for safety and health at work, according to a statement from the Public Ministry. The prosecutors are to question the company’s manager and the truck’s driver. Maihailesti mayor Dorinel Petre told local Agerpres that the incident occurred 300-400 m away from the place where a great tragedy happened 12 years ago. On May 24, 2014, a truck loaded with 20 tones of ammonium nitrate rolled over and caught fire, and one hour later exploded killing 18 people and seriously injuring 13 others. Seven of 18 people killed by the explosion were firefighters, three were locals, and two were journalists. The explosion left behind a 6.5-meter deep crater and metal junks were scattered over a several hundred meters radius, affecting the roofs of several houses in the area. The director of the Doljchim fertilizer plant, which produced the ammonium nitrate, and the managers of the two companies involved in the transport of this substance without safety measures were sentenced to four years in jail each, for homicide by negligence and destruction of property. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QpzU5kQxCec&feature=youtu.be Irina Popescu, irina.popescu@romania-insider.com