Morrisons supermarket evacuated in Strood after gas leak
A cordon is thrown around
Morrisons in Strood
A supermarket was evacuated today after explosive fuel leaked
from a van.
Firefighters set up an exclusion zone after the Liquid Petroleum
Gas (LPG) leak at the Morrisons petrol station in Knight Road,
Strood.
The garage, supermarket and car park were evacuated and shoppers
were told to leave the surrounding area for about an hour,
firefighters said.
An 11-year-old maroon Ford Transit van with "glass" written on
it sparked the alert at 8.55am when it went to fill up.
Fire crews said the owner apparently filled the tank with up to
25 litres of LPG without realising there was a rupture.
A fire service spokesman said: "LPG is very volatile so we
decided to set up an exclusion zone of at least 100m."
Crews allowed the LPG to leak into the air from the crack in the
tank and cleared the rest using a high-pressure fan.
The van driver, who did not want to be named, said: "I filled up
the tank, it developed a rupture and it's fixed now. That's about
it."
The supermarket and car park reopened by 10.15am.
08/01/13
- Click here for more Medway news...
- Click here for more news from across the county...