Tank falls off truck, ruptures gas line

Part of Highway 34, near Marble Hill, Mo., was shut down Monday evening after a 180,000-pound tank fell off a tractor trailer and ruptured a natural gas line.

The tank, about 50 feet long, did not injure anyone when it fell, said Marble Hill fire chief Jim Bollinger. No one had to be evacuated out of the area at the time.

"As it came round the curve by our airport, the back end of it shifted and it rolled off the truck and landed on the gas line," Bollinger said.

Traffic was blocked until the leak was fixed by AmerenUE crews, which was made difficult by how the trailer came to rest.

"One part of the trailer broke in two and landed on top of a valve on the pipe where the shut off is located," he said. "They had to use a tow truck to lift it so they could put the pipe in to shut it off."