A lorry spilled hundreds of litres of diesel fuel onto a major motorway in central Germany after its driver lost control on a rain-slicked road, police said on Wednesday.
The 52-year-old driver was travelling too fast for conditions on the A4 motorway near the city of Bad Hersfeld on Tuesday evening when he crashed through a central barrier, rupturing a fuel tank containing about 600 litres of diesel.
The fuel, spread across the roadway by rain and passing vehicles, turned a roughly 100-metre stretch of the motorway into a slippery hazard, police said.
Authorities temporarily closed the A4 between Friedewald and Bad Hersfeld and diverted traffic. No one was injured in the accident. Damage was estimated at more than €100,000 ($116,000).
Firefighters emptied the damaged lorry's remaining fuel and treated the road surface with absorbent material. Because diesel flowed into nearby drainage systems, emergency crews also deployed containment barriers in the neighbouring streams to prevent environmental contamination.
Clean-up operations involving street sweepers and specialist vehicles lasted several hours. The motorway was reopened on Wednesday morning.
