Thanks to a speedy response by the Fire Service a disaster was averted at the port of Antwerp’s Waaslandhaven in Kallo (East Flanders). Just before 6am on Wednesday a Polish tanker driver noticed that there was a technical issue with his trailer. The tanker was carrying 27,000 litres of petrol.
Disaster narrowly averted after tanker carrying 27,000 litres of petrol catches fire at the port of Antwerp
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The trucker had just passed the toll booths at the Liefkenshoek Tunnel when he noticed the problem. He had just left the Esso oil refinery with a load destined for France. The lorry driver left the motorway to find a safe place to park up and see what the problem was.
Then one of the tyres on his trailer suffered a blowout and suddenly flames could be seen around the wheel. The driver immediately called the Fire Service and started to attempt to extinguish the flames himself. Once the Fire Service arrived firefighters were soon able to bring the fire under control.
Commander Thierry Van Goethem of the Waasland Fire Service told VRT News that “The man knew what he was carrying, and he was able to act correctly and evert a catastrophe”.
The fire is likely to have been caused by a brake that had become jammed.