WASATCH COUNTY, Utah, May 21, 2024 (Gephardt Daily) — Officials at the scene gave an update on search and recovery efforts at Deer Creek Reservoir after a tanker carrying propane tore through a guardrail on Route 189 and plunged into the water.
The incident happened at about 7 p.m. Monday. The tanker, carrying just less than 12,000 gallons of propane, tore open and spilled an estimated 80 to 90 percent of the gas into the atmosphere. The tanker remains near the water’s surface, and the truck’s cab is resting at or near the bottom of the reservoir, according to reports.
It was unknown as of this morning whether the driver’s body remains in the cab, Wasatch Fire Chief Eric Hales told reporters, but indications are it will be a recovery operation. Divers were preparing to enter the water as of this morning, but ensuring their safety, with up to 20% of the propane still in the wreckage of the tanker, means a careful plan must be in place.
Hales also said officials have been in touch with the tanker company, and believe they know the name of the person who was driving, but that information is not yet being released.
The roadway in both directions has been closed since the incident and is likely to remain closed for most of the day, Utah Highway Patrol Capt. Scott Robertson told reporters, so drivers will need to take alternate routes.
HAZMAT crews remain on the scene, Robertson said.
“We worked last night to kind of stabilize the scene and make a plan to attempt to locate the driver (that) was our first focus, and then trying to safely remove the truck,” he said. “We determined that it was too dangerous for divers and rescuers to be doing that in the dark, plus the tank was still off-gassing … We didn’t want to be in the area while that was happening.
“So the decision was made to do all that this morning. So that’s where we are. We have tow trucks there, cranes and divers out there” that will attempt to “remove the truck and locate the driver.”
The exact timetable will be determined by circumstances discovered during the process, Robertson said.
“We’re working to get them (divers) in the water. The truck hasn’t moved,” he said at the time of the news conference.
Robertson said the water entry scene was on a curve, and the tanker would have been headed slightly uphill.
“We just don’t know what caused him to lose control and jackknife, and then ultimately slide to the guardrail and underwater … A lot of the information we need to do our investigation is in the truck.”
And getting to that will require putting the divers in the water, Robertson said.
“It’s a pretty slow process, when we’re putting divers in the water and rigging … You know, we want to make sure that we’re being as safe as we can.
“So we understand the need to get the road open, and we’re sympathetic to motorists. It’s a pretty good short cut into the Utah Valley and we recognize that, but we also have to do as thorough an investigation as we can for the safety of our first responders.”
Hales said that after the tanker and cab are rigged by divers and can be pulled or lifted from the water, it’s possible the remaining propane will be released. He said park rangers worked to keep boaters away when the bulk of the flammable gas was released, due to the risk of ignition.
As for the remaining gas still in the part of the tank that is submerged in the water, which is about 54 degrees, “our fear is as we bring that tank out of water, with the heavy wreckers and the cranes, that as it warms up, it will begin to off-gas again. And so we have crews standing by if that happens.”
Crews will be isolating any ignition sources to avoid igniting the gas as it releases into the atmosphere, Hales said.
Utah Highway Patrol will release situation updates during the day, especially as they pertain to traffic, Robertson said.
Gephardt Daily will share information as it is released.
