About 2,500 gallons of diesel fuel were spilled and the driver injured when a tractor-trailer hauling the fuel from Fairbanks to the North Slope overturned on the Dalton Highway, according to the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation.
The accident took place at about 3:20 p.m. Saturday, said DEC officials and NANA Oilfield Services, Inc., the tractor-trailer's owner, reported it shortly thereafter. Officials said the truck left the highway before rolling over at about milepost 299.4, some 110 miles south of Deadhorse.
Photographs of the scene from the DEC's website show the rig jackknifed near the roadside and booms made of absorbent materiel put in place to prevent the diesel from entering a nearby stream. About 2,561 gallons of the diesel spilled, according to DEC estimates, based on fuel remaining in the tanker.
The rig's driver, whose identity wasn't released, was treated for unspecified injuries at Fairbanks Memorial Hospital and later released.
The accident's cause remains under investigation.
ADN STAFF