An ice road collapsed under a tanker truck hauling heating fuel just days after authorities raised the weight limit on the road.
The incident happened Saturday near Deline in the North West Territories when the tanker attempted to cross the Great Bear Lake and fell through the ice, becoming partially submerged. No one was hurt and the truck didn’t leak any fuel.
On March 2, transportation officials approved a weight increase on the road from 10,000 kilograms to to 40,000 kilograms. Crews said that the ice was over 100 centimeters thick, making it safe enough to travel on at 40,000 kilograms at the appropriate speeds.
There is no evidence that the truck driver surpassed the 20 kilometer per hour speed limit, but police are investigating based on the fact that 11 other tankers successfully crossed the ice road.
The ice road is closed until further notice.
Irony or something… “Fuel tanker plunges through ice road in N.W.T.” https://t.co/zAQOk5yqFA
— Naomi Klein (@NaomiAKlein) March 7, 2016
Sources:
CBC
The Weather Network