Tanker crash spills 14,000 litres and closes Highway 11

A tanker trailer crash in Sastamala spilled about 14,000 litres of petrol and diesel, keeping Highway 11 closed for more than a day. Cleanup continued on Tuesday, Yle reported.

The trailer overturned into a ditch on Monday, allowing fuel to leak into the surrounding ground. Contaminated soil stretches for about 100 metres along the road, and crews worked through the night to remove it.

Jari Nieminen, a fire chief with the Pirkanmaa Rescue Department, said the incident caused a serious environmental spill but no injuries. The spill did not reach a groundwater area.

Contaminated soil is being removed with excavators and a suction truck and taken to the Tarastenjärvi waste centre in Tampere. Oona Virta, who leads the contaminated environments team at Sweco Finland, said investigators are taking samples to determine how deeply the fuel has seeped into the soil. Further testing may be carried out in the coming weeks.

The cost of the cleanup is not yet known, but Virta said it could run to thousands or tens of thousands of euros. The police are investigating the cause of the crash.