Gas Spill Sparks China Highway Blaze
A tanker truck carrying liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) crashed yesterday near Beijing, China, causing a massive fire that, luckily, did not claim the lives of any of the motorists involved.
Dashcam footage uploaded to the internet shows the aftermath of the crash, including the damaged and leaking tanker at the right-hand side of the road underneath what looks like a pedestrian overpass.
Traffic is at a standstill when we see the driver of a small Mazda crossover in the right lane pull onto the shoulder. That was a bad move, as either the car's hot exhaust or something under one of the wheels sparks a fire that engulfs the Mazda and ignites brush and trees at the roadside.
According to Agence France Presse, two people sustained serious burns and six others suffered less serious injuries. The driver of the crashed rig escaped injury. As the French news agency points out, the crash occurred in the lead-up to Chinese New Year, when large numbers of people travel to visit family.
The crash happened on the Beijing-Harbin Expressway, a highway that links the Chinese capital with Harbin, a city of 10 million in eastern China.
