Tulum, Q.R. — Emergency personnel moved to the location of a vehicle fire that was reported by motorists Friday morning. At the scene, firemen arrived to a fully engulfed semi cargo container transporting a large shipment of chlorine.
Members of the Tulum fire department were on scene for several hours containing the roadside blaze that quickly spread from the underside of the vehicle. Flames shot upward, creating thick red and black plumes of smoke that could be seen for kilometers.
The driver was transporting the chemical material through the municipality of Tulum when the underside of the vehicle began to smoke. Several other industrial vehicles stopped to help the driver who managed to escape his cab unharmed.
The fire was reported to emergency services around 7:00 a.m. on a section of the Chemax highway. The unit was coming from the state of Yucatan when the fire happened.
According to preliminary information, the semi driver was transporting dry trichloroisocyanuric acid, a compound used for disinfecting and chlorinating swimming pools.
Emergency services shut sections of the highway, restricting traffic along a 400-meter stretch in the Chemax-Tulum direction and approximately 800 meters in the Tulum-Cobá direction.
Drivers were instructed to remain in their vehicles as a precaution against the smoke and toxic fumes released by the chlorine combustion.
According to early information, the fire is believed to have started due to a mechanical issue with the unit’s breaking system.
