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A major highway near Rotorua has reopened after a major bitumen leak and truck fire this morning.
Thousands of litres of bitumen leaked from the truck after a breakdown was reported on State Highway 5 between Rotorua and Ngongotahā around 6am.
Following the leak, police said the tanker caught fire and the highway between Ngongotahā Rd and Barnard Rd was closed with motorists asked to take alternative routes due to “significant delays”.
A Fire and Emergency New Zealand (Fenz) spokesman said the fire had been extinguished. All crews had left the scene by midday, a spokeswoman said.
“The tanker with the leaking bitumen was emptied and the highway made safe before our crews left.”
Bay of Plenty Regional Council compliance manager for air, industry and response Stephen Mellor said he was advised of the situation this morning through the Pollution Hotline.
A compliance officer from Tauranga attended the site and inspected the environmental impacts of the bitumen spill.
Higgins staff were onsite at the time, Mellor said, and a clean-up plan was developed to manage environmental impacts.
This plan would include any remedial work that needed to be done and the regional council’s compliance officer would continue to work with Higgins to ensure any work undertaken was appropriate and compliant, Mellor said.
In an update at 12.45pm, NZ Transport Agency said the road had reopened under contraflow.
Earlier, traffic was diverted around the lake and Paradise Valley.
SH5 near Rotorua was closed due to the truck breakdown and bitumen leak.
Thousands of litres of bitumen now contained
The Fenz spokesman said the leak had now been contained after about 12,000 litres of bitumen had leaked from the truck towards a drain at a rate of four litres per minute.
The spokesman said the bitumen had now been contained in a “bunded area” – a walled area used to contain a spill.
The process to decant the remaining bitumen had also begun, he said.
Fenz called for further help after a small fire started in the truck during the decanting process, which had since been extingushed.
Three fire appliances, two support vehicles, a Hazmat unit, a water tanker, a digger and a bobcat were on the scene.
Fenz crews were assisting contractors using personal protection equipment and breathing apparatus.
Bay of Plenty Regional Council had been advised and staff were coming from Tauranga, the spokesman said.
