A petrol tanker carrying 48,000 litres of fuel has ignited on the Bruce Highway and is “well involved” in flames, a spokesman from the Queensland Fire Department said.
The incident is unfolding at Owanyilla, where the fire started about 1.56am on Friday.
According to a Public Safety Preservation Act declaration from the police, police and emergency services were called to the scene at Glenorchy about 2am.
The PSPA was declared at 2.22am, with an exclusion zone of 3km.
The highway is currently blocked in both directions, the spokesman said.
Motorists have been advised to avoid the area and drive with care.
The spokesman said trucks were “stranded” on the highway as they were unable to turn around.
He said the truck had been carrying 20,000 litres of super and unleaded in the front tank and 28,000 litres of diesel in the rear tank.
The spokesman said it was too early to know what had caused the petrol tanker to ignite, but the incident was described as a traffic crash in the PSPA statement issued by police.
The driver of the truck was out of the vehicle and uninjured, but paramedics from the Queensland Ambulance Service were on standby at the scene, a spokeswoman said.
Extracted in full from: https://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/fraser-coast/police-courts/bruce-highway-closed-48000l-fuel-tanker-ignites-at-owanyilla/news-story/f1706d8d94eae759ccba061e10d4f93a
