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Threat of hazardous fumes from Tullamarine truck crash ‘eliminated’
By Jackson Graham and Ashleigh McMillan
People across several suburbs in Melbourne’s north have been told there is no longer any threat to them after a truck carrying hazardous chemicals crashed on the Western Ring Road at Tullamarine.
The initial fume warning came after a B-double truck carrying pesticide crashed through a barrier on the road, rolling onto its side and into an embankment near the Melrose Drive exit ramp at 2am.
Emergency services safely removed the trapped truck driver, a 41-year-old Mernda man, before he was taken to hospital for observation.
People who live or work within a 500-metre radius of the crash site, an area that takes in parts of Airport West, Gladstone Park, Gowanbrae, Strathmore Heights and Tullamarine, had earlier been advised to stay indoors because of the chemical spill.
By 4pm on Friday, emergency services said there was no longer a threat to local communities from the fumes, but the area should still be avoided as the clean-up continued.
Fire Rescue Victoria assistant chief fire officer James Dullard said the slip lane onto the Melrose Drive exit ramp would remain closed into the evening.
“There’s nothing emanating or leaving the site that would impact anybody, so in terms of a hazard to people, that’s been eliminated now,” he told ABC Radio.
Assistant chief fire officer Craig Brownlie said earlier on Friday that firefighters expected the clean-up to take most of the day.
“This is a large incident,” Brownlie told radio station 3AW. “We are getting the specialist equipment that we will need to resolve this coming now.”
About 40 firefighters responded to the crash in the early hours of Friday morning and hazardous materials crews from Fire Rescue Victoria set up an exclusion zone around the spill.
Emergency services at the scene after a truck carrying hazardous chemicals crashed over an embankment on the Western Ring Road.Credit: Jason South
The affected area is mostly industrial, although there are a few houses within the 500-metre radius zone.
Police are investigating the cause of the crash.
Department of Transport spokesperson Chris Miller on Friday morning said the crash scene was causing passing traffic to slow down on the Western Ring Road between Pascoe Vale Road and the Tullamarine Freeway.
“There are delays on the way past,” he said. “The clean-up will take some time.”
The truck driver has been rescued and emergency services are cleaning up a chemical spill.Credit: Nine News.
The Melrose Drive ramp to the Western Ring Road remains closed and drivers are advised to take exits onto the Tullamarine Freeway or Airport Drive as alternatives.
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