Natural gas leakage caused by traffic accident at Lishixi Exit of Qingyin Expressway Follow-up: 22.4 tons of gas evacuated in 5 days and 4 nights
China News Service, Luliang, November 29 (Gao Ruifeng, Zhang Wenbing) On November 24, China News Service reported on the leakage of an LNG tanker caused by a traffic accident at the toll plaza of Lishixi Expressway in Luliang, Shanxi.
At present, after 5 days and 4 nights of strict protection by the local fire, public security, traffic police and other departments, the 22.4 tons of natural gas contained in the tank truck have been completely emptied, and the danger has been completely eliminated.
The picture shows firefighters wearing professional protective clothing preparing to initiate a new round of disposal operations.
Photo courtesy of Luliang City Fire Rescue Detachment
At about 9 o'clock on November 24, near the exit lane of Lishixi Toll Plaza in Luliang, Shanxi, Qingyin Expressway, a heavy coal-carrying truck collided with a tanker carrying liquefied natural gas, causing the tanker to leak natural gas. One person was trapped.
According to the driver of the tanker, the vehicle contained 22.4 tons of natural gas. Once it burns and explodes in an open flame, it is very likely to cause heavy casualties and paralysis of the highway traffic artery.
After the incident, the Luliang City Fire Rescue Detachment dispatched 6 fire engines and 25 firefighters to the scene of the accident.
The leaked natural gas formed a "white fog" more than 4 meters high on the scene, and firefighters diluted it urgently, and it took 22 minutes to rescue the trapped people from the coal truck.
Team members Tao Dengpeng, Han Haoxiang, and Hu Minjin took the initiative and tried to plug the leak with professional equipment such as wooden wedges, winding dripping and freezing. The temperature of the leak point was too low, and the LNG operating box was squeezed and deformed after the vehicle collided. Serious, unable to successfully plug the leak.
One hour after the incident, a hazardous chemical disposal expert from the local government arrived at the scene and contacted an empty tank truck to rush to the scene to prepare for the tank dumping operation.
However, experts have argued that tank dumping is not feasible, and firefighters need to use flowering water guns to dilute and protect the leaking natural gas until it is completely emptied.
At 10:15 that day, all personnel at the scene of the accident were evacuated outside the warning area, and all nearby units and residents were cut off from electricity.
Within 1000 meters from the scene of the incident, the eighth squadron of the Shanxi Expressway Traffic Police Team is to guard, and irrelevant vehicles are absolutely prohibited from approaching; nearby ordinary roads are guarded by local police and traffic police departments.
Under strict protection, 5 days and 4 nights after the incident, all natural gas in the tank truck was emptied.
Photo courtesy of Luliang City Fire Rescue Detachment
After officially entering the natural gas disposal process for natural emptying, the Luliang City Fire Rescue Detachment decided to leave 5 firefighters on site to be responsible for water supply between vehicles on site.
During the five days and four nights of emergency rescue, the night temperature around the accident site was as low as minus 8 degrees Celsius. The firefighters performing the dilution protection task were always surrounded by cold, sleepy, and danger.
In the meantime, they have never stopped the dilution operation, and have been diluting the naturally leaked natural gas with flowering water guns.
On the afternoon of the 28th, as the danger was lifted, the vehicle in the accident was dragged away from the Lishixi Expressway Toll Plaza, and the Lishixi Toll Plaza, which was interrupted for 5 days and 4 nights, resumed normal traffic.
(Finish)