Road shut for 4 hours after oil truck collapse

Abu Dhabi police shut a motorway for more than four hours on Tuesday after a truck laden with petroleum products swerved off and collapsed, dumping nearly four tonnes of petrol on the road, a newspaper said on Wednesday.

The truck was on the Abu Dhabi-Silaa speedway near the border with Qatar when its massive tanker came off its base and collapsed, taking the whole truck with it, the Arabic language daily Alittihad said, quoting police.

Initial investigations showed the tanker base has eroded because lack of maintenance, resulting in its collapse, said Major Mohammed Al Shehi, head of the traffic police in the western region.

“We had to shut the road for four and half hours until all the petrol products are removed and the road cleaned up…we also managed to remove the truck, which weighed nearly 30 tonnes with its load.”