WILMINGTON : 1 Killed, 4 Injured in Tanker Explosion
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One man was killed and four others were injured at a Wilmington transport yard Friday when a lid blew off an overturned tanker trailer carrying a highly toxic chemical, authorities said.
Los Angeles City Fire Department spokesman Mike Little said the accident occurred about 11:30 a.m. when the five workmen at Southern Pacific Transport Co., 701 N. Pioneer Ave., attempted to release the tanker’s shipment of sodium hydroxide, a caustic soda used as a neutralizing agent in petroleum refining. The tanker, he said, had tipped on its side.
As the workmen attempted to pressurize the tanker, Little said, its hatch blew off, striking one man in the chest and killing him instantly. The other four men, Little said, were then burned by a spill of about 1,000 gallons of sodium hydroxide from the tanker.
The dead man’s identity was not immediately available. The other four men were treated for their injuries and released, either at the scene or at nearby hospitals, authorities said.
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