MONTREAL -- About 1,000 litres of diesel oil was spilled across four kilometres of road in Montreal’s West Island Friday.
Firefighters received the 911 call at 4 a.m.
"There was some sort of mechanical problem where there was a leak that started under the truck in one of the pipes," explained Ian Ritchie, chief of operations with the Montreal fire department. "It leaked a bit of diesel fuel all the way on all the streets."
A truck driver, on his way to Trudeau Airport, had departed from Montreal’s Saint-Laurent borough before realizing there was a leak and stopping on Saint-François Road in Dorval.
Authorities say the leak is coming from a part of the truck's tank that can hold about 7,000 litres of oil. It has yet to be capped.
"The procedure they're using is they take it from one tanker truck into a trailer or into a holding tank, and from that holding tank, they put it into another trailer," Ritchie told CTV News. "So, it takes a long time to take it from one to the other. It all has to be done very safely to make sure there are no injuries and there is no danger for anyone."
Firefighters are onsite pouring absorbents on top of the spilled fuel and closing manholes as a precaution.
A private company will then be called in to clean up the mess.
"We have had some diesel fuel that has gone into the sewers. Right now, we're checking to make sure that it hasn't impacted the environment at all," Ritchie said. "Our priority number one is the security of everybody onsite, the citzens around us and the environment. So, we take it very seriously."
Authorities insist so far, the spill poses no risk to the environment. Ritchie estimates it will be another few hours before the area is reopened to traffic.
