Truck towing hydrogen cylinders consumed by fire after crash in India
Intense flames burn trees at side of the road, with conflicting reports about whether H2 tanks ruptured
A truck carrying a shipment of more than 100 cylinders of hydrogen crashed near the Indian city of Payal in the small hours of Thursday and was destroyed by the resulting fire, according to local reports.
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One of the truck's tyres apparently punctured, causing the vehicle to veer into roadside trees, while en route between Rajpura to Raikot in Punjab state.
The driver was able to escape the truck early, but the entire vehicle was consumed before the local fire brigade was able to extinguish the flames. Trees on the roadside also reportedly burned down in the incident.
However, there are conflicting report about the number of hydrogen cylinders being towed, how long it took to control the flames, and whether any of the hydrogen tanks ruptured and contributed to the ferocity of the fire.
Hydrogen has a wide flammable range and explosion point, with a low minimum ignition energy — making it extremely dangerous if it sparks, such as from a vehicle crash.
Earlier this year, a truck carrying 420kg of hydrogen in six cylinders in the US caused three injuries and road infrastructure damage, while a 2019 stationary tank explosion in South Korea killed two and injured six.
As the nearest fire station was 28km away, it took 20 minutes for firefighters to reach the site near the town of Payal, with the fire brought under control within half an hour.
However, while one of the firefighters on the scene has said that at least one hydrogen cylinder ruptured as the truck burned, police have also told local media that none exploded as the fire was brought under control in time.