120625 Philippines 185 LPG tanks explode as truck catches fire along Skyway
Philippines Jun 25 2012 “Automobile & Railway”
Dead : dead 0 or unknown Burnout : 0 or unknown Injured : injured 0 or unknown
185 LPG tanks explode as truck catches fire along Skyway
Updated: 2012-06-26-12:00
MANILA, Philippines – A six-wheel truck carrying 185 tanks of liquefied petroleum gas caught fire along the Skyway in Sucat, Parañaque yesterday morning.
Romulo Ramos, 47, of Gas 3 Inc., told investigators he was driving an Isuzu Elf (XJS-239) on the third lane near the Sucat entry going to Alabang, Muntinlupa when a passenger bus on his right “cut him off.”
“The driver avoided the bus by turning the wheel to its left. But its right front tire burst and he (Ramos) lost control, causing the truck to fall left-side down,” said Senior Police Officer 1 Mariano Peralta of the Philippine National Police-Highway Patrol Group said.
Based on initial investigation, the truck and the bus were running at 80 kilometers per hour, the fastest speed allowed for them. The bus driver was overtaking a passenger jeep when he cut Ramos. The truck driver, however, could not remember the bus line and the unit’s plate number, Peralta said.
Ramos and his helper Ryan Villanueva, 37, jumped out of the truck as it caught fire. Seconds later, the LPG tanks exploded. Ruben Padilla of Skyway Corp. said the explosions lasted from around 6:45 a.m. until firefighters from Muntinlupa City put out the flames at about 7:10 a.m.
Fire Marshal Chief Inspector Roderick Aguto said two fire trucks responded to the scene.
The fire snarled traffic along both lanes of the expressway until around 9:25 a.m.
Only Ramos and Villanueva, who sustained minor scratches, were hurt in the incident, police said.
——–
Web Source: Philstar
http://www.philstar.com/nation/article.aspx?publicationsubcategoryid=65&articleid=820982
Date: 26 June, 2012
Country: Philippines