Drunk driver sends diesel bowser down slope

By Madura Ranwala

A fuel bowser carrying 35,000 litres of diesel ran off the road and fell about 15 feet down a slope near the police barracks at Diyagala early yesterday, according to the police.

Police spokesman Superintendent Ajith Rohana said that the driver of the bowser had been drunk when the accident occurred in the Ginigathena police area, along the Colombo-Hatton road, at 1.25 a.m.

He was arrested by the Ginigathena police.

SP Rohana said that the tank had got detached from the truck before it toppled and started leaking from several places. People had been seen trying to collect the leaking fuel into all types of containers, he said.

Deputy Director of Disaster Management Centre (DMC) Sarath Lal Kumara told The Island that fuel had flowed into the Mahaweli Ganga.

The DMC officers had already cautioned the Water Board and residents, who use the river for various purposes against using the river water downstream.

The Deputy Director said that fire brigade, police and army personnel, Nuwara Eliya DMC officers and some politicians had arrived at the scene and taken measures to ensure safety. Later, two bowsers had been used to retrieve fuel from the leaking tank, he said.

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