At least five dead after crash causes anhydrous ammonia leak

Five people died after a crash involving multiple vehicles including a tractor-trailer carrying anhydrous ammonia that overturned in Illinois on Friday night, leading to a leak of the toxic gas and prompting residents within a 1-mile radius of the crash site to evacuate, officials said.

The vehicle rolled over on U.S. Highway 40, about a half-mile east of Teutopolis, Illinois, about 90 miles southeast of Springfield, around 9:25 p.m. Friday, releasing a large plume of anhydrous ammonia and causing dangerous air conditions, officials said at a news conference Saturday morning.

Kim Rhodes, the Effingham County coroner, said five people had died as a result of the crash, adding that it was possible additional fatalities could be reported later. It was not immediately clear how the victims died.

Three of the victims were from the area, including a child and an adult who were from the same family, Rhodes said. Two other victims were from Ohio and Missouri, she said.

Chief Tim McMahon of the Teutopolis Fire Protection District said that five people with injuries were airlifted to hospitals and another victim was taken to a hospital in a vehicle. Their conditions were not immediately known.

The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency said Saturday afternoon that the vehicle was carrying 7,500 gallons of anhydrous ammonia and an estimated 4,000 gallons had been released.

McMahon said at the news conference that a hazmat team had patched the ruptured part of the tanker, which slowed but did not stop the leak. As of Saturday afternoon, the leak was still partially patched, and crews were working to identify the safest way to empty the tanker, the Illinois EPA said.

About 500 people have been evacuated from the area, the agency said. About 1,500 people live in the village of Teutopolis.

The evacuation order will stay in place until at least Sunday morning, officials said.

“Once we get the product offloaded and away from the scene, I think things will return back to normal fairly quickly, but this is a complicated situation,” said Sheriff Paul Kuhns of Effingham County, which includes Teutopolis. “I understand how frustrating that would be to not be allowed to travel or to go back home, but we really need to focus our resources on this spill.”

Because of the dangerous plume of gas, emergency crews had to wait before responding to the crash, he said.

“They had to mitigate the conditions before they could really get to work on it, and it was a fairly large area,” he said.

The National Transportation Safety Board was sending a team to help with the investigation. Traffic had been rerouted to Highway 40 earlier Friday because of a separate crash nearby.

Anhydrous ammonia – often used in manufacturing, refrigeration and agriculture – is a toxic gas that can be corrosive to human tissue upon contact, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“It’s terrible,” Kuhns said. “It’s bad stuff if you are involved in it – breathe it, especially – because it gets in your airways, in your lungs.”

Environmental Protection Agency workers were expected to arrive later Saturday to monitor air quality.

McMahon said that the direction of the wind had changed three or four times overnight, further complicating the response to the crash. Crews were set up in multiple locations to respond to the gas leak based on the wind changes, he said.

The National Weather Service was providing officials with forecast updates, Kuhns said, adding, “Any amount of wind or weather will complicate this process immensely.”

Illinois state Sens. Steve McClure, Jason Plummer and Chapin Rose said in a statement that they were monitoring the situation.

“Our hearts are with the families of those who passed in this awful tragedy, and with the emergency personnel who have risked their own safety to help others,” they said. “Please stay clear of the area and allow first responders to work.”

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.