Driver dead as overturned tanker spills 40,000 liters of diesel into Nan creek

 

Picture: Thai Rath 

 

Police said it was lucky there was not a major explosion and fire after an oil tanker overturned on the Nan to Chalerprakiat road near the border with Laos.

 

The tanker belonged to Pattamawat Petroleum Co Ltd based in Bang Lamung, Chonburi.

 

Driver Thongphanchang Ngernwiset, 52, also from Bang Lamung, was found dead at the scene.

 

The 22-wheel tanker was loaded with 41,000 liters of diesel and believed to be bound for Laos.

 

The tank ruptured spilling almost the entire load into the creek after the accident on Route 101

 

Rescue services and fire personnel at the scene doused the area in water to prevent a fire.

 

Pol Lieutenant Chairat Tankaew of Chalermprakiat police surmised that the driver was not familiar with the local road saying that it was lucky there was not an explosion or fire at the scene.

 

Source: Thai Rath

 

-- © Copyright Thai Visa News 2018-08-28

I'm no expert on flammable liquids, but doesn't diesel have a higher flash point than gasoline or avgas?

Diesel oil is not highly explosive under normal circumstances  .

Was the driver, unfamiliar as he was with the route, driving in a manner to allow for reaction to road and weather conditions?

 

57 minutes ago, ratcatcher said:

Was the driver, unfamiliar as he was with the route, driving in a manner to allow for reaction to road and weather conditions?

Stop it your killing me.

wonder if the people living down stream are wondering what happened to the creek that runs past their house?

That load will kill everything that might have been living in the creek and on the banks for a very long time.

40,000 litres of diesel into a creek is going where next water supply. fish farm, rice fields? burning it may have been the best option?

Don't worry Somchai and his mates are already trying to

get the diesel out the river and into Samsong. Hongtong and water bottles.

ready for resale.  

Ps maybe skip the fish for sale tomorrow in that area, !!!!!!!!!!!!! 

 

Edited August 28, 20188 yr by stanleycoin

13 minutes ago, stanleycoin said:

Don't worry Somchai and his mates are already trying to

get the diesel out the river and into Samsong. Hongtong and water bottles.

ready for resale.  

Ps maybe skip the fish for sale tomorrow in that area, !!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Thinking the wrong way mate, save charcoal, self BBQ'ing fish.

He just wasted 0.22 seconds of global oil production!

Spraying water on diesel...mmmmm, something wrong here.

They should have dammed the creek, then pumped the diesel into another tanker, but no, just let 41,000 litres, pollute the creek, and kill everything in it for many kilometres. 

3 hours ago, webfact said:

Police said it was lucky there was not a major explosion and fire after an oil tanker overturned on the Nan to Chalerprakiat road near the border with Laos

Yeah, it´s super lucky it didn´t explode. Much better with 40 000 liter diesel in the creek!

"Police said it was lucky there was not a major explosion and fire after an oil tanker overturned..."

 

Most likely he did not have his driver's license. If he did have one, I am sure that piece of paper would have made him a much safer driver. 

Edited August 28, 20188 yr by jaltsc

You really would think that tanker drivers , gas bottle delivery truck drivers knowing what is behind them would take extreme precautions, but no not here.

I also thought that these tankers had to be segmented into at least 3 separate storage tanks if able to carry

dangerous goods ?

 

That's actually pretty impressive. 

And not a single word of concern how that massive amount of diesel flowing down the creek and seeping into the soil will be contained in order to prevent an environmental disaster. Instead, "rescue services personnel" (rescuing whom, rescuing what?) "doused the area in water" to ensure that the diesel washed down the creek even faster... and to potentially bring it to places where farmers burn their plastic garbage. These people are just hopeless.

Pol Lieutenant Chairat Tankaew of Chalermprakiat police surmised that the driver was not familiar with the local road was a typical monkey-brained Somchai, driving too fast for his own good saying that it was lucky there was not an explosion or fire at the scene.

 

 

3 hours ago, Aussie999 said:

Spraying water on diesel...mmmmm, something wrong here.

They should have dammed the creek, then pumped the diesel into another tanker, but no, just let 41,000 litres, pollute the creek, and kill everything in it for many kilometres. 

Yes,  but,   next big rain storm it will have all gone ? from the accident area.

You're not thinking this through, are you. ??

For the in depth explanation   google    the front fell off.

?

Edited August 28, 20188 yr by overherebc

1 hour ago, natway09 said:

You really would think that tanker drivers , gas bottle delivery truck drivers knowing what is behind them would take extreme precautions, but no not here.

I also thought that these tankers had to be segmented into at least 3 separate storage tanks if able to carry

dangerous goods ?

3 minutes ago, ratcatcher said:

The entire truck was squashed and lying on its roof 

3 compartments probably wouldn't have helped much in this case

News for geniuses. Diesel is lighter than water. It floats so it does not sink in the water and kill fish. Diesel also evaporates fairly quickly so it is not as harmful as crude oil. It will cause some environmental damage but most creatures can get out of its way. Burning it would have created a massive forest fire that would have done a lot more damage.

Typical the way they title this report etc. It should read "Incompetent overworked driver that didn't know the route, who was pressured to clock in at certain times within a company allotted window along the route, and lost control due to some reason plus was more than likely ultimately unfit for purpose."

 

Probably speeding...in both senses of the word.

 

Edited August 28, 20188 yr by Sir Dude

39 minutes ago, sabyedee said:

News for geniuses. Diesel is lighter than water. It floats so it does not sink in the water and kill fish. Diesel also evaporates fairly quickly so it is not as harmful as crude oil. It will cause some environmental damage but most creatures can get out of its way. Burning it would have created a massive forest fire that would have done a lot more damage.

A massive forest fire in the monsoon season in a creek.... Lol

2 hours ago, varun said:

Pol Lieutenant Chairat Tankaew of Chalermprakiat police surmised that the driver was not familiar with the local road was a typical monkey-brained Somchai, driving too fast for his own good saying that it was lucky there was not an explosion or fire at the scene.

 

 

Firstly Monkeys have more sense so stop insulting them. 

 

Second,  I have to wonder why exactly he was taking a back door route to Laos.   Could it be some tax avoidance scam maybe ?  Anybody know what the Laos diesel taxation rate is compared to the subsidised Thai rate ?

Edited August 28, 20188 yr by Esso49

2 hours ago, Misterwhisper said:

And not a single word of concern how that massive amount of diesel flowing down the creek and seeping into the soil will be contained in order to prevent an environmental disaster. Instead, "rescue services personnel" (rescuing whom, rescuing what?) "doused the area in water" to ensure that the diesel washed down the creek even faster... and to potentially bring it to places where farmers burn their plastic garbage. These people are just hopeless.

It really is sad, but what can anyone do?

At my age anyway all I can do is shake my head, have another G&T, a shower and read a few pages of my latest good book.

All I can say is my wife and self have never added to the population.

 

1 hour ago, ratcatcher said:

 

Yeah...  Lets call a spade, a spade and play devils advocate.  This is LOS (API and DOT don't rate here), fuel was being shipped across the border to Laos.  The truck is taking the back roads, to bypass those pesky weigh stations and any grief.  A legit load of fuel, and a legit tanker (unmodified, with proper baffles)?  Or 50-100% more in the tank (undeclared), tank modified and overloaded?   Maybe not, but would you bet the farm on it?

Edited August 28, 20188 yr by CanuckThai

8 hours ago, webfact said:

surmised that the driver was not familiar with the local road

Far more likely he just wasn't properly trained and got the job because he accepted low wages. I used to drive Asian overlands with buses, London to Kathmandu by road  which would be quite some feat to be familiar with, but because of proper training never did get my bus in this position. Its quite simple, to drive properly you need teaching by experts.

Anyone who crashes a truck and spills 40,000litres of fuel into fresh water deserves to die.

7 hours ago, NCC1701A said:

wonder if the people living down stream are wondering what happened to the creek that runs past their house?

Or why the fish were tasting a bit more oily than usual?

2 hours ago, Ks45672 said:

The entire truck was squashed and lying on its roof 

3 compartments probably wouldn't have helped much in this case

 

Maybe...maybe but I'm sure the truck was like that before the journalist used Photoshop

 

 

6 hours ago, ExpatOilWorker said:

He just wasted 0.22 seconds of global oil production!

And I could have driven on that for close to 11 years!