Hazmat team deployed after acid tanker overturns near Cherating

PETALING JAYA: A Hazmat team was deployed and water barriers put in place after a tanker carrying 24 tonnes of hydrochloric acid overturned along Jalan Kuantan-Kemaman near the Cherating Bridge in Kuantan, Pahang, today.

Pahang fire and rescue department assistant director Salahuddin Isa said they were alerted to the incident at about 7.30am after the tanker skidded and overturned while travelling from Pasir Gudang in Johor to Kemaman, Terengganu.

It caused a leak in the tanker’s top cover, resulting in about 1,000 litres of the acid spilling into a nearby mangrove swamp, Harian Metro reported.

Water barriers were set up to keep the chemical from flowing onto the main road, while workers began to transfer the acid into a fibre reinforced tank.

“The driver sustained injuries and was sent to Kemaman Hospital for treatment,” Salahuddin said

He also said the department of the environment and the company involved were alerted to the incident.