A Fire and Rescue Services personnel from the Hazmat Unit inspecting the barrels that fell off the lorry near SK Kelombong in Inanam yesterday.
Fire and Rescue Services personnel spraying water at the lorry driver after he came into contact with the nitric acid.
Fire and Rescue Services personnel cordoned off the area to control the situation.
KOTA KINABALU: A major disaster was averted when eight barrels of nitric acid fell off a moving lorry near SK Kolombong in Inanam near here yesterday.
Two of the barrels subsequently burst causing massive spillage onto the road while the remaining six barrels were scattered all over the place.
The 9.30am incident occurred when the driver of the lorry, transporting 73 barrels of nitric acid, lost control of the wheel. This caused eight barrels to fall off the lorry when the securing lashes broke, while two barrels burst upon impact with the road.
State Fire and Rescue Services Department public relations officer Superintendent Mohd Affendy Ramli said about 40 litres of nitric acid spilled onto the road and firemen from the Hazmat Unit were immediately deployed to control the situation.
“Investigation at the scene revealed that each barrel contained about 10 litres of nitric acid.
“The driver claimed that he lost control of the vehicle, causing eight barrels to fall off his lorry. Two of eight barrels were destroyed due to the impact, causing spillage of some 40 litres of nitric acid,” he said, adding that some of the six barrels were found damaged but no spillage was reported.
Mohd Affendy said 20 Fire and Rescue Services personnel and the Hazmat Unit were deployed to the scene after receiving a distress call at 9.37am.
He added that there was no untoward incident reported while the lorry driver was reportedly unhurt.
The area was cordoned off for a couple of hours until the operation ended at around 11am.
Meanwhile, city police chief ACP M. Chandra confirmed the incident and said that the police were still investigating the case.
He said initial police investigation revealed that the lorry was heading to Kolombong from Kionsom in Inanam when he lost control of the vehicle and swerved on the road.
Chandra also confirmed of no untoward incident and praised the firemen for controlling the situation speedily.