<!–
<!–
<!– <!–
<!–
<!–
<!–
A truck driver miraculously escaped on Friday night when the B dual fuel tanker carrying 50,000 liters of diesel he was driving exploded into a fiery inferno.
The fire, which occurred on the Peak Downs Highway near Nebo, Queensland, about 10:40pm on Friday night, burned so strongly that it damaged the road and closed the highway.
Livestock in a nearby field in a rural area nearly 1,000 kilometers north of Brisbane were also lucky to escape the flames.
Homeowner Kaiz-Anne Bryan heard the explosion, so loud it could be heard up to 10km away, coming from the truck and saw the resulting fireball that exploded right outside her house.
“I thought, oh my God, what was that?” he told the Daily Mercury newspaper on Saturday morning.
A truck driver miraculously escaped on Friday night when the B dual fuel tanker carrying 50,000 liters of diesel he was driving exploded into a fiery inferno (pictured).
Police believe a brake failure on the B-double started the fire.
“The truck passed me…they had the brakes on,” Mrs. Bryan said.
He could see flames coming from the rear trailer, and when he heard a second “massive” explosion he called triple 0.
Bryan then began calling his neighbors in case the fire spread to a nearby cattle pasture.
Five fire crews, some of whom came from Mackay, 40 minutes away, contained the blaze while she and other homeowners on both sides of the road remained alert in case the fire spread to their homes, livestock or property .
Fortunately, the fire did not spread to homes or properties and light rain helped put out the fire.
“We’re so lucky it was a quiet night… even the smoke was rising up,” Bryan told the Mercury.
Almost unbelievably, no one was injured in the fire and the driver was able to disconnect the truck from the trailers.
The fire was eventually extinguished because there was no more diesel left and crews focused on cooling the wreckage of the truck and the road, the Queensland Fire and Emergency Service said.
Queensland Police said heavy vehicles were diverted through the Sarina Range, while light vehicles were able to maneuver around the crash site once the fire was brought under control.
Work is currently underway to assess the damage to the road and repair it, which could result in a prolonged closure of that stretch of road.
Cattle in a nearby field in a rural area almost 1,000 kilometers north of Brisbane were also lucky to escape the flames (pictured)