Newport oil tanker crash shuts SDR (From South Wales Argus)

Newport oil tanker crash shuts A48 Southern Distributor Road

10:40am Monday 23rd July 2012 in News

4.00pm

The SDR is now fully open.

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2.51pm

 

All oil from the overturned tanker has now been siphoned off into another tanker.

Firecrews are still at the scene monitoring the tanker being righted with airbags. Once this is complete, they can go.

The latest estimate is that the closed stretch of the SDR between Nash junction and the Balfe Road roundabout will re-open at around 4pm.

 

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10.41am

 

GWENT police said the driver of the overturned lorry, a 54-year-old man from Newport, was taken to the Royal Gwent Hospital with minor injuries.

Police said that they were called to the incident on the SDR in Newport at around 7.45am this morning.

They said the tanker had overturned and some oil had spilled onto the carriageway.

They confirmed the SDR has been closed between the Nash junction and the Balfe Road roundabout while emergency services are at the scene.

Diversions are in place but motorists are advised to avoid the area.

 

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10.27am

AN eyewitness to this morning’s lorry crash has described hearing screeching and seeing the tanker slide along the road.

The Eco Oil tanker overturned at around 7.48 on the Southern Distributor Road, close to Spytty retail park.

Eye-witness, Michael Francis, 51 from Spytty, told how he was out walking his dogs when he saw the crash, just yards from where a lorry had previously overturned just a month ago.

Mr Francis, said: "I left to walk my dogs at about 7.20am and was returning to my house when I heard a loud screeching noise. I turned to my left and I’ve seen the lorry on its side sliding along the road. It must have slid for about 20 yards."

Being a lorry driver himself, Mr Francis recognised the sign on the back of the lorry warning that it contained hazardous chemicals, in this case oil, and called the fire brigade.

He also believed smoke to be coming from the tankers tyres and said the windscreen of the driver’s cab was hanging out.

Mr Francis and his friend, Les Smith, 55, also from Spytty, who was a fellow eyewitness said they believed the driver to have been up and out of the cab, but described him as having bad scratches across his back.

Mr Smith, last month lost 50 ducks he and his wife cared for in a similar incident where diesel from an overturned lorry on the same section of the A48 polluted a local reen.

Two fire engines and an environmental health vehicle from South Wales Fire and Rescue remain on the scene, where they are attempting to siphon the oil from the stricken taker to another one, and the South Wales and Gwent police helicopter is also attending the scene.

The road remains closed in both directions with local diversions in place.

 

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8.57am

AN OIL tanker has overturned on the A48 Southern Distributor Road, reports say.

Eye witness pictures show fire coming from what looks like the smoke of the vehicle.

Traffic Wales says the A48 is closed between Nash Road and Queensway in both directions.

More to follow.