FIRE fighters fought to stop a truck carrying 25,000 litres of petrol from exploding on Thursday after it caught alight near Burdekins Gap, south of Bulahdelah.
Traffic around Bulahdelah was brought to a standstill when the cabin of the fuel tanker caught alight about noon. Police were forced to divert traffic off the highway as they battled to keep the fire from igniting the 25,000 litres of unleaded petrol in the truck.
The truck’s cabin was destroyed but Rural Fire Service firefighters contained the fire, Inspector Cec Miller said.
“It was very volatile,” he said. “Had the fire not been contained there would have been a huge bang.
“We would have ended up needing a new highway.”
The driver was uninjured.
The accident is believed to have been caused by a technical fault.
Meanwhile a woman, 31, suffered serious head injuries after crashing her car on the Bucketts Way at Krambach. She was flown to John Hunter Hospital in a critical condition.
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