[ghostcat]

Just down the road.

[Ramius]

Holy moly... check out the pics at the link... quite a crater.

[Flint]

I don't get it. Tanker trucks carry liquid. And you don't carry blasting caps and det cord in a tanker. Which one was it?

[MizSterious]

For those of us who don't live in your neighborhood, where is hwy 6?

[Types_with_Fist]

... now back to Aruba.

[aposiopetic]

When the truck blew it pretty much diminished the entire truck.

Into small pieces, I guess.

[houeto]

WOW!

[righttackle44]

"Some of the debris is still smoldering."

You'd think so, wouldn't you.
Does it have an alternative?

[ghostcat]

The truck drove from Ensign-Bickford Company, an explosives company, at the mouth of the canyon. The company is also known as Trojan, a friend of mine is the chief chemist there

[houeto]

[Dog Gone]

[wyattearp]

He said when the driver was pulled to safety, he warned everyon on the scene that the truck was full of blasting caps and primer cord and everyone should run.

I don't know if it is illegal to ship explosives and blasting caps together in the same shipment, but it certainly isn't very smart.

[silentknight]

Hmm a truck accident is breaking news? The big detroit explosion at the chem plant was pulled from breaking news. Just curious what makes one story breaking news. It is impossible for people to determine where to place a story anymore.

[Reaganesque]

Man, I remember when the town of Thistle was flooded and abandoned back in the 80's. At least there wasn't a town there to be blown up. Come to think of it, isn't or wasn't there a rocket fuel factory at the mouth of SF Canyon? And wasn't there an explosion there a few years ago?

Mental note: don't buy land in or near Spanish Fork Canyon.

[glock rocks]

Probably on its way to the coal mines. That's one hell of a hole! Thank goodness the driver and all around are safe.

[Excuse_My_Bellicosity]

Saw this on the TV after work. The crater is 30 feet deep and 75 feet wide. The explosion also buckled adjacent railroad tracks. On channel 2, they were interviewing a guy who got blown off his motorcycle and, amazingly, only got some bumps and bruises.

[RightWhale]

When the truck blew it pretty much diminished the entire truck

That truck was diminished about as much as the one that blew up in OKC. Diminish, diminish. Sure, why not.

[Excuse_My_Bellicosity]

Everyone, including emergency personnel, is being kept at least ½ mile from the scene, downwind, because right now they don't know what kind of explosive material the truck was carrying, or what kind of fumes it's giving off

I'm betting that's supposed to be "upwind", not "downwind".

[Libloather]

Red Leifson, left, a firefighter from Spanish Fork, Utah stands at the edge of a crater as a Utah Department of Transportation worker walks through it Wednesday, on U.S. Highway 6 in Spanish Fork Canyon near Thistle, Utah. A tractor-trailer carrying 35,500 pounds of explosives overturned and exploded Wednesday.

[TheOtherOne]

Truck Carrying 35,000 Pounds of Explosives Blows Up on Utah Highway

By Jennifer Dobner Associated Press Writer
Published: Aug 11, 2005 SALT LAKE CITY (AP) - A tractor-trailer carrying 35,500 pounds of explosives overturned and exploded on a Utah highway, injuring at least 19 people.

The explosion left a giant crater - estimated to be 70 feet wide and 30 feet deep - on U.S. 6 about 60 miles south of Salt Lake City and forced the two-lane highway's closure in both directions.

Several small fires were started by the explosion and flying debris.

"The entire road is gone, shoulder to shoulder, there's no asphalt left," said Tom Hudachko, Utah Department of Transportation spokesman.

Witnesses said the truck's driver appeared to lose control of the vehicle after taking a curve at high speed, Highway Patrol Lt. Doug McCleve said.

The driver, Travis Stewart, 30, was flown to University Hospital in Salt Lake City, where he was in fair condition, spokesman Chris Nelson said.

Troy Lysfjord, 37, was lying down in the back of the cab when the accident occurred. He told The Salt Lake Tribune that he helped Stewart out of his seat belt and they climbed out of the cab with the help of nearby motorists.

By that time, between 20 and 30 people had gathered around the wreckage to help and Lysfjord said he shouted, "It's explosives! Get out of here."

"I was close enough that it literally picked me up off my feet and threw me on the ground," he told the newspaper. "I felt it literally all the way through me."

Lysfjord was in fair condition at Utah Valley Regional Medical Center in Provo and was expected to be released Thursday.

At least 19 other people were treated for injuries at various hospitals. Others may have been injured but sought medical care on their own, authorities said.

The rig from R&R Trucking of Duenweg, Mo., had just left commercial explosives maker Ensign-Bickford Co. at the mouth of Spanish Fork Canyon when the accident happened. The truck was headed to Oklahoma, company officials said. They wouldn't say what kind of explosives the truck was carrying.

AP-ES-08-11-05 0645EDT