Calgary

Semi-truck rollover leaks diesel, closes southern Alberta highway

A semi-truck has rolled over leaking diesel fuel and shutting down a southern Alberta highway for several hours, RCMP said in a release.

Driver not injured, cause unknown as investigation expected to take hours

Highway 9 was expected to be closed for several hours Sunday evening, with traffic diverted to Route 570 to the south. (RCMP)

A semi-truck rolled over and leaked diesel fuel Sunday, shutting down a southern Alberta highway for several hours, RCMP said in a news release.

RCMP were called to Highway 9 near Range Road 43, north of the town of Oyen, at about 4 p.m. Sunday.

Oyen is about 300 kilometres east of Calgary.

The truck was travelling westbound when it crashed.

"The truck was carrying liquid [nitrous oxide] tanks when it rolled," police said.

"Some of the tanks are empty, while some of the tanks are still full. The tanks have scattered across Highway 9. The truck itself is leaking diesel fuel. The cause of the rollover is unknown at this time and is still under investigation."

Nearby fire departments helped RCMP with the cleanup.

Highway 9 was expected to be closed for several hours Sunday evening, with traffic diverted south, to Route 570.

The driver of the semi wasn't injured and the cause of the crash is not yet known.