A potentially dangerous situation unfolded on John F. Kennedy Drive near Nassau International Airport on Monday afternoon when the driver of an oil tanker lost control of the vehicle and crashed into a utility pole.
At the time of the accident, the tanker was carrying approximately 7,000 gallons of fuel en route to Texaco Service Station on East Bay Street, according to police.
The male driver was taken to hospital, but Police Inspector Walter Evans said his injuries were not life threatening.
When The Journal arrived on the scene of the mishap, the tanker’s trailer head was wrapped around the utility pole and technicians from the Bahamas Electricity Corporation were on guard.
A fire truck was pumping a foamy mixture onto the areas where oil had spilled while scores of bins and buckets were positioned underneath the holding tanks as fuel poured in a steady stream out of them.
“We are using the foam to prevent vapors from escaping thereby preventing a fire,” Director of Fire Services Jeffery Deleveaux explained.
Mr. Deleaux said that the possibility of an explosion occurring was slim, but an explosion would have been likely had there been any sparks.
As a sign of precaution, police diverted traffic as authorities worked to bring the situation under control.
Paul Neeley, manager of The Bahamas Oil Company, which owns the tanker, told The Bahama Journal that when full, the tanker can carry 7,500 gallons of fuel. At the time of the accident, he said, it was carrying 4,000 gallons of gasoline and 3,000 gallons of diesel.
Neil Knowles, owner of Four Season Crane, which was hired to reposition the tanker, said that two cranes would have to be used, and he pointed out that all of the fuel would have to be drained before his company started working on the wreck.
Mr. Knowles said the driver was lucky to have survived what could have been a catastrophe.
“The accident could have been worse,” he said. “The guy could have been dead. Whatever saved him he must have had an angle watching over him.”
By: Royanne Forbes-Darville, The Bahama Journal
