Truck leaves road near Batocina, methane leaks from tank

A heavy truck, which the Kragujevac Police Department described as a semi-trailer, ran off the Batocina-Kragujevac highway at Niksic Hill this morning, November 4, and hit a guardrail. Methane, the fuel that powers the vehicle, leaked from its tank. The driver was injured and taken to the University Clinical Center Kragujevac. No source gives the exact time of the crash.

What is known about the Batocina crash

The Kragujevac Police Department confirmed to Radio Television of Serbia (RTS) that the vehicle left the road and struck the guardrail. The portal Informer reports that the vehicle also overturned, and a photo from the RINA agency carries a caption about an overturned truck at the scene.

Sources describe the vehicle differently. RTS writes about a semi-trailer. The portal NS Uzivo calls it a tanker in the headline and a semi-trailer in the body. Telegraf and Informer refer to a heavy truck. The one detail all the reports share is the methane leaking from the tank.

How the firefighters’ response unfolded

The Fire and Rescue Brigade of the Emergency Management Directorate in Kragujevac went to the scene. According to the directorate’s statement, six firefighter-rescuers from the Brigade responded with one fire truck, along with one firefighter-rescuer from the Batocina Fire and Rescue Unit with a specialized tanker vehicle. That made seven firefighters in all. The Batocina Police Station secured the site, and officers of the Kragujevac Police Department are conducting the on-site investigation.

Zoran Kocovic, head of the Emergency Management Directorate in Kragujevac, told RTS what the crew found on arrival:

“Upon arrival, the firefighter-rescuers found a damaged heavy vehicle with one injured person inside. In a swift and coordinated intervention, members of the Fire and Rescue Brigade pulled the injured person out of the wrecked vehicle and handed them over to the team from the Kragujevac Institute for Emergency Medicine for further medical care. The injured person was transported to the University Clinical Center Kragujevac.”

Kocovic also assessed the response in a statement relayed by RINA and published by Telegraf and Informer:

“This intervention once again confirms the importance of timely response, training and professionalism among members of the Emergency Management Sector, as well as the importance of coordination among all responsible services when human lives are at risk.”

What is known about the driver’s condition

Firefighter-rescuers pulled the injured driver out of the cab, and a team from the Kragujevac Institute for Emergency Medicine took over. Sources differ on how serious the injuries are. RTS says doctors at the Clinical Center are still determining the extent of the injuries, while NS Uzivo, citing the Tanjug agency, reports that the driver suffered minor injuries. The driver’s name and age have not been released.

What has not been announced yet

The cause of the crash is not yet known. RTS reports that more details will emerge once police finish the on-site investigation. No source says whether traffic on the highway was halted or how long the intervention lasted.