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Hydrogen Burned under Control during Road Accident

A hydrogen transporter was damaged during a severe accident on the A1 highway near Cologne/Germany in March 2001. A truck crashed into the transporter with high speed in the end of a traffic jam due to inattention. Three of the nine vessels were damaged and hydrogen was released and ignited.

Firemen closed the highway in both directions. They did not try to extinguish the fire according the regulations for hydrogen handling. Instead of this, the other tanks were cooled with water to prevent more damage. The hydrogen leaked from the punctured tanks and burned under control until the tanks were empty.

The truck driver died in his cabin as a result of the crash. Other persons or vehicles were not involved in this accident.

A spokesman of the fire department in Cologne pointed out that accidents with hazardous goods like this were very rare. In most cases there was no more damage than in other accidents. Special tanks for liquefied gas and gas tanks were generally extremely resistant.

Source: H2Report, S. Geitmann, Apr. 2001

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