More than 100 firefighters tackle massive fire after thousands of litres of petrol explode in fireball on M1 motorway west of Wollongong

This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

It took 100 firefighters hours to bring a roadside inferno under control after a fuel tanker burst into flames on the side of a motorway near Wollongong.

The truck was carrying 36,000 litres of fuel along the M1 Princes Motorway west of Wollongong when it caught fire before 9am on Friday.

7 News Sydney (@7NewsSydney) West Wollongong: A 2km exclusion zone has been established as a truck carrying 35,000 litres of unleaded & E10 petrol burns on the Princes Motorway near the Princes Highway. Evacuations are underway. The motorway is closed in both directions. #Wollongong #7News pic.twitter.com/bUOCM1Shjr

About 20 emergency crews converged on the scene to douse the flaming vehicle with foam, a Fire and Rescue New South Wales spokeswoman said.

The 44-year-old male driver, the only occupant of the truck, was able to escape unharmed as homes around the fire were evacuated.

Crews battled to keep the blaze within containment lines as the fireball repeatedly flared up, with fuel spilling onto the roadway and into drains.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Firefighters battle the fuel tanker fire by the side of the freeway. Photograph: ABC News

Firefighters by midday had achieved a “significant fire knockdown”, Fire and Rescue posted on Twitter.

The acting superintendent, Kevin McNeil, said it was potentially a “very dangerous situation” on a major roadway busy with school holiday traffic.

“A fuel tanker full of fuel could have caused extreme damage,” he told reporters in Wollongong.

The fire appeared to have started in the truck’s cabin but it is unlikely the driver will be charged, McNeil said.

“We’re investigating the matter at the moment but it is unlikely anything the driver has done has caused this fire.”

Hazmat crews were expected to remain on the scene to help decant the remaining fuel from the vehicle and keep it from flowing into drains.

The M1’s northbound lanes were expected to reopen on Friday afternoon but the southbound lanes would remain closed as emergency services work to clear the road.

Images posted on social media show massive flames erupting from the tanker parked on the side of the road.