Fuel tanker tips on Dempster Highway near Fort McPherson, N.W.T.
Driver says he swerved to avoid an animal
A driver hauling fuel to Inuvik, N.W.T., tipped his truck on the Dempster Highway after swerving to avoid an animal, according to the N.W.T. Department of Transportation.
The accident occurred on March 9 about 110 kilometres past the N.W.T./Yukon border, between Fort McPherson and Tsiigehtchic.
The driver was unharmed, said Kevin McLeod, the N.W.T.'s director of highways.
"Apparently the driver was avoiding some wildlife," said McLeod. "He over-corrected perhaps, early indications are, and he tipped over."
A small amount of fuel leaked from the truck but was quickly contained, he said.
"The driver had anti-fuel spillage kits on the truck, and our staffer had some spill kits on his truck too — he was the first person on scene about 20 minutes after it happened," said McLeod.
"They contained it with spill kits and some putty to put over tank exteriors."
Crew members were expected to remove the truck from the highway Friday afternoon.
The accident was the first of its kind this season on the N.W.T. half of Dempster Highway, though two fuel tankers have overturned on the Yukon side of the highway since the end of December.