Truck carrying 15 tonnes of explosive blows up
The Local - [email protected] •
17 Dec, 2013
Updated Tue 17 Dec 2013 15:50 CEST
A truck carrying 15 tonnes of liquid explosives blew up at a quarry in northern Norway on Tuesday afternoon, setting fire to nearby houses, scattering debris and spreading toxic smoke over a wide area.
"It was like a giant New Year's firework," Iselin Målvatn, who was in the area when the truck exploded, told VG newspaper. "It was totally sick. We saw the smoke and felt the pressure as we sat in the car." Police evacuated the area after the truck caught fire early in the afternoon, creating a 1000m exclusion zone around the vehicle and clearing residents from nearby houses. "All construction workers have been evacuated," Egil Pettersen from the Helgeland police told VG newspaper before the blast. "Now we are checking if any of those who live in houses in the area are home." The driver of the truck escaped as soon as he realised his engine had caught fire, and is unhurt. The truck was bringing explosives into a quarry in Ømmervassveien, between Ømmervatn and Drevja in Nordland county.
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"It was like a giant New Year's firework," Iselin Målvatn, who was in the area when the truck exploded, told VG newspaper. "It was totally sick. We saw the smoke and felt the pressure as we sat in the car."
Police evacuated the area after the truck caught fire early in the afternoon, creating a 1000m exclusion zone around the vehicle and clearing residents from nearby houses.
"All construction workers have been evacuated," Egil Pettersen from the Helgeland police told VG newspaper before the blast. "Now we are checking if any of those who live in houses in the area are home."
The driver of the truck escaped as soon as he realised his engine had caught fire, and is unhurt.
The truck was bringing explosives into a quarry in Ømmervassveien, between Ømmervatn and Drevja in Nordland county.
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