Tanker carrying formaldehyde overturns, four injured

A tanker lorry transporting industrial chemical believed to contain formaldehyde overturned and sprang a leak on a south-bound lane of the North-South Expressway here, forcing temporary closure of the highway at that stretch.

Ipoh Fire and Rescue Station chief P. Sumasivam said two cars collided into the overturned tanker and four people, one of them the lorry driver, were injured in the accident at Km269.8, some three kilometres from the Jelapang toll plaza, of the highway at 7.20 am.

He said traffic was diverted to the federal road as the stretch of the highway was expected to remain closed until 1 pm today as a Hazmat (Hazardous Materials) Unit team from the Pasir Puteh Fire and Rescue Station cleaned up the spot.

Sumasivam said the lorry was carrying 23 tonnes of industrial chemical from Prai, Penang, to Kuantan when the accident happened.

The injured people were sent to the Raja Permaisuri Bainun Hospital, he told reporters at the scene.