AN ALEXANDRA, NEW ZEALAND, FIRE DEPARTMENT TANKER rolled over into a 30-ft. deep gully Saturday morning when the road collapsed under it.
The tanker from Dunstan was responding along with two other units to a house fire and was carrying three firefighters including the driver Kenneth McGarry. While traveling along a private gravel road, the edge gave way and the 2,000-gal. tanker tumbled over and down the embankment.
The Otago Daily Times tells us:
About 15 members of the Alexandra Volunteer Fire Brigade were quickly on the scene, after confirming the fire for which services were called out initially was a permitted burn-off.
An Alexandra doctor was called to assess Mr McGarry, but could not get close enough to him. Mr McGarry was conscious and talking during the incident, and did not appear to be in need of urgent medical attention, so he was left in the care of emergency services.
Two cranes and a helicopter from Dunedin were called to the site. Firefighters used the jaws of life to cut into the tanker, removing parts of the roof and inside cab, including the steering wheel.
Mr McGarry was eventually freed at 11am and given immediate medical attention before being flown by helicopter to Dunedin Hospital for a scan and other medical checks. He was released from hospital (Sunday).
The other two passengers were uninjured and were able to extricate themselves from the wreck before help arrived.
“The driver was extremely lucky. The position he was trapped, the difference between a tragedy and the good result we’ve got, is probably only a matter of centimetres,” a fire official said.
Read the full story of this incident HERE.
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