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Thika road reopened after fuel tanker wreckage cleared

A fuel tanker had overturned earlier in the morning, road had to be closed.

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by CYRUS OMBATI

News14 July 2022 - 18:08
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In Summary


  • • A team from the Kenya Defence Forces and the National Disaster Management moved in quickly to assist the police officers who were already on the ground.
  • • Traffic was diverted to other routes and until the scene was cleared and cleaned.
Breakdown lorry salvage the wreckage of a fuel tanker at the scene of an accident involving a canter and a car at Githurai flyover, Thika Road on July 14, 2022

Thika superhighway has been reopened after hours of closure after a fuel tanker overturned at a CarWash area near Githurai.

The Tanker which was coming from Thika overturned at around 10 am as the driver attempted to evade a canter that was changing lanes ahead of it.

Kasarani Deputy Sub-County Commander Muthoni Wahome, told the media that the Canter had moved to the inner lane to avoid hitting a car that had suddenly changed lanes.

"A car, Noah model, had suddenly changed lanes pushing the Canter to the inner lane where the Tanker was," said Wahome.

"None of the vehicles hit the other, they just overturned."

There were no casualties reported during the accident but for the passenger who was in the canter who complained of pain in the hips.

"A team from the Kenya Defence Forces and the National Disaster Management moved in quickly to assist the police officers who were already on the ground," said Wahome.

The team blocked the petrol from leaking through the drainage tunnels using sand and later an exhaust tank was called to empty the tunnels.

The officer also commended members of the public for restraining themselves from getting to the scene to siphon the fuel as had been witnessed in the past incidents.

The Tanker had carried at least 18,000 litres of petrol that spilt all over.

"Fire incidents often occur easily with such spillage and therefore, we had to take enough caution. Traffic was diverted to other routes and until the scene was cleared and cleaned. We could only open up the roads once the scene had been cleaned and the wreckage cleared," emphasized Wahome.

By 3 pm, the road was opened and motorists were allowed access.

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