Five people are killed and five seriously injured after a toxic truck carrying AMMONIA overturns in Illinois: Adults and two young children from the same family are among the dead
- A toxic truck carrying ammonia overturned in Teutopolis, Illinois
- Five lost their lives and five others were seriously injured
Five people were killed and five others seriously injured when a toxic truck carrying ammonia overturned in Illinois.
The hazardous substance leaked from the vehicle after the accident, causing a huge plume of noxious smoke to fill the air as a mass evacuation of hundreds of local residents in Teutopolis was initiated, officials said Saturday.
The truck was carrying corrosive anhydrous ammonia and collapsed around 9:25 am on Friday evening. The resulting runoff totaled more than half of the vehicle’s 7,500-gallon load, according to the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency.
Effingham County Coroner Kim Rhoades revealed after the spill that the tragedy left three people from the same family — an adult and two children under the age of 12 — dead.
Rhodes added that the other two fatalities involved out-of-state drivers, and five other people were taken to the hospital.
Five people were killed and five others seriously injured when a toxic truck carrying ammonia overturned in Illinois
The names of those killed or killed in the accident have not been released by authorities.
At a news conference Saturday morning, Effingham County Sheriff Paul Kuhns said emergency crews worked on the scene Saturday night and saw a large plume of the leak billowing into the air.
First responders also had difficulty accessing the crash site due to the highly noxious dust released into the area.
“We have many brave firefighters, EMTs, hazmat specialists and police officers working on this scene right now,” Kuhns said.
He added that the plume was a “cloud of anhydrous ammonia,” which “caused terribly dangerous air conditions in the northeastern part of Teutopolis.”
‘Due to these circumstances, the emergency workers had to wait. They had to mitigate the conditions before they could really get to work on it, and it was quite a large area,” he added.
Footage from after the incident shows emergency services being rinsed with water after coming into contact with the area.
Cleanup efforts are underway in the area, with private and federal environmental contractors called to the town of about 1,600 residents.
The National Transportation Safety Board said Saturday it will investigate the crash, spokesperson Jennifer Gabris told the Associated Press.
