Firefighters rescued the driver trapped inside the cab of the overturned container truck. After being saved, the trapped driver was carried onto an ambulance and sent to the hospital. Nearby villagers arrived with buckets and pots to scoop up the peanut oil.
-- On the morning of December 11th, a tanker truck overturned on the Tongsan Expressway in Jiaonan's Poli section, causing the cab to crash down from the bridge. Two men on the tanker were killed instantly, and approximately 30 tons of peanut oil leaked out. The accident is suspected to have been caused by the tanker scraping against another container truck. Report by Wang Xiaqiang.
At around 10:00 AM on December 11th, a shocking traffic accident occurred on the Jiaonan Poli section of the Tongsan Expressway. A Henan-registered tanker carrying about 30 tons of peanut oil overturned while traveling through this area. The cab detached and fell below the bridge, causing a large amount of peanut oil to leak onto the road and into the ditches below the bridge. Not far away, a Tianjin-registered container truck also flipped over onto the slope beneath the bridge. The accident resulted in two men in the tanker cab dying instantly, while the driver of the container truck was trapped inside his vehicle. Following the incident, police officers, firefighters, and medical personnel quickly arrived at the scene for rescue operations. The trapped driver was eventually successfully rescued and taken to the hospital for treatment. He has now stabilized. Traffic police stated that preliminary investigations suggest the accident may have been caused by the two vehicles colliding or scraping against each other, but further investigation is required to determine the exact cause.
**Scene: Tanker Breaks Into Two Parts, Two Men Die**
"There's been an accident near the Jiaonan Poli exit on the Tongsan Expressway!" On the morning of December 11th, after receiving reports from citizens, I rushed to the accident site, located on the downline of the Tongsan Expressway at kilometer 677 + 200 meters.
At the scene, a Henan-registered tanker lay overturned on the side of the bridge, its cab separated from the tank and fallen below. Large amounts of peanut oil leaked from the overturned tank, flowing onto the road and through drainage holes in the highway down to the ground below. In some low-lying areas beneath the bridge, the leaked oil formed "rivers of oil," and the air was filled with the smell of peanut oil.
About thirty meters west of the tanker's accident location, there was chaos at the edge of the bridge. A stretch of twenty-meter-long guardrails had been damaged and scattered across the road, along with some scattered iron containers. Beneath the guardrails, a blue container truck was upside down on the slope, with car parts scattered nearby. Police officers and firefighters were conducting rescue operations.
A villager surnamed Li who lived nearby recounted that at around 10:00 AM, he was about to go out to buy feed when he suddenly heard two loud booms in quick succession. Initially frightened and unsure of what to do, he regained his composure and followed the sound to the side of the highway, where he discovered two vehicles had flipped off the bridge. Rescue personnel soon arrived at the scene.
"At first, I thought it was gasoline leaking," said a villager returning from visiting relatives in Dachang Town. Seeing the tanker overturned and liquid continuously flowing down from the bridge, he initially assumed it contained gasoline. Upon closer inspection, he realized it was cooking oil.
It was reported that after the accident, the two men inside the tanker cab fell with the cab to their deaths below the bridge. Meanwhile, the container truck, which was carrying a large number of iron containers, suffered severe deformation, trapping the driver inside, whose condition was unknown.
**Rescue: Two Cranes Assist in Successfully Saving the Driver**
"Still alive, hurry to rescue!" Firefighters conducting rescue operations beside the container truck said that the driver still showed signs of life but was stuck inside the vehicle, unable to move.
Due to the severe deformation of the cab, the driver's legs were pinned, making movement impossible. Because of the complex situation inside the cab, rescuers quickly devised a rescue plan to ensure the maximum safety of the driver.
At around 12:30 PM, two 25-ton cranes lifted the container truck from the bridge. At the same time, firefighters below used hydraulic spreaders and motorized hydraulic cutters to clear obstacles inside the cab and began rescuing the trapped driver.
After the joint efforts of the firefighters, police officers, and medical personnel on-site, the trapped driver was successfully rescued at around 1:10 PM.
"Thank you, you've worked hard!" As the bloodied victim was carried toward the ambulance, he endured his pain and raised his right hand to thank the rescuers. The injured man was then quickly taken to Jiaonan People's Hospital for emergency treatment.
By 5:30 PM that day, it was learned that the rescued driver had stabilized after emergency treatment.
**Cause: Suspected Collision Between Two Vehicles Triggered the Tragedy**
According to interviews conducted at the scene, the tanker involved in the accident was traveling from Henan Puyang to Huangdao, accompanied by two other tankers, all carrying peanut oil. The bodies of these three tankers were marked with the words "Xunda Oils."
"We were originally delivering oil to a peanut oil factory in Huangdao, but we didn't expect an accident like this," said two men from the other two tankers present at the scene. One of them, Mr. Shi, told reporters that among the three tankers, the one involved in the accident was leading the way. "When we saw something happening here, we didn't pay much attention at first, but upon closer inspection, we realized it was our own vehicle." Mr. Shi said he was momentarily stunned and did not know how the accident happened. Mr. Shi added that the two deceased individuals were surnamed Jia and Duan, both around forty years old.
At the site where the container truck fell, red car parts were scattered. A clearance worker said these parts likely came from the tanker. "It's possible the tanker hit the container truck, causing it to fall."
"Two vehicles may have collided or scraped against each other, but it's unclear why the tanker overturned so soon afterward," said one onlooker.
"Preliminary analysis based on the scene suggests the accident may have been caused by a collision or scrape, but further investigation is needed to confirm the exact cause," said the traffic police, who will investigate and determine the cause of the accident.
**Unexpected Incident: Villagers Arrive in Vehicles to Scoop Peanut Oil**
During the interview, journalists witnessed an unexpected scene. While rescue personnel were fully engaged in saving the trapped driver, curious villagers noticed the leaked peanut oil and returned home with basins, buckets, and pots to scoop it up.
In no time, the number of villagers scooping oil increased from more than ten to dozens, and even more villagers arrived in minivans and tricycles to collect the oil. Despite continuous persuasion from police officers maintaining order at the scene, the villagers used every available container they had, working busily.
In a short while, many villagers had already filled several pots with peanut oil. When asked about the intended use of the peanut oil, some villagers said they would use it as animal feed, others claimed they would sell it to restaurants, and some simply stated, "After filtering, we'll eat it ourselves."
"The tanker was carrying at least thirty tons of peanut oil; I remember its capacity was forty tons," said Mr. Shi, a colleague of the two deceased victims. "Seeing my colleagues meet such a tragic end, I no longer have the energy to worry about the stolen peanut oil."
Regarding this issue, lawyer Zhang Baoqing from Shandong Fangheng Law Firm expressed that the peanut oil involved in the accident, if valued at a significant amount, could constitute the crime of mass looting under the law. According to criminal law, those who organize or actively participate in the looting of public or private property, especially if the amount is substantial or involves serious circumstances, may face imprisonment of less than three years, detention, or probation, along with fines. If the amount is enormous or involves particularly severe circumstances, they may face imprisonment between three and ten years, along with fines. "Villagers taking advantage of the situation to loot goods is not only immoral but also constitutes a criminal offense," said the lawyer.
Text and photos by reporter Wang Xiaqiang