Traffic resumes only after gas leak is neutralised and safety clearance completed, police say
RAUTAHAT, DECEMBER 31
The East–West Highway, Nepal's main arterial road, was reopened on Wednesday morning after remaining completely shut for nearly 24 hours due to an overturned LPG tanker truck in Rautahat.
According to the Area Police Office, Chandranigahapur, vehicular movement resumed only after the leaked gas was safely evacuated and the overturned bullet truck was removed from the highway section at Lamaha forest area under Chandrapur Municipality–4.
The accident occurred at around 7:30 am on Tuesday, when an LPG bullet truck (UP-17 AT-2114), transporting gas of Nobel Company from Raxaul, India, to Mahendranagar, Dhanusha, overturned, causing a gas leak and forcing authorities to impose an immediate and complete traffic halt on the highway.
DSP Rupa Labung of the Area Police Office said the highway was reopened only after all safety protocols were fulfilled. "As gas was leaking from the tanker, security agencies enforced a total shutdown of traffic to prevent any possible disaster. The road was reopened only after the tanker was safely emptied and removed," she said.
Police and technical teams worked overnight to carefully drain the LPG from the tanker before using cranes to clear the vehicle from the road. Even after the tanker was removed, fire engines were deployed for nearly two hours to wash and secure the affected stretch, considering potential residual risks.
Traffic was allowed to resume only after authorities confirmed the road was fully safe, DSP Labung said. She added that police had restricted vehicle movement on both sides of the highway since Tuesday morning as a precautionary measure to minimise the risk of fire or secondary accidents.
