A river in Wales has turned completely white after a milk tanker overturned and spilled its contents into the river yesterday evening (April 15).
The accident occurred on the A482 in Carmarthenshire and milk from the overturned tanker spilled into the River Dulais – and the river turned white..
Natural Resources Wales (NRW) said that an “unknown quantity” of milk had leaked into the river from the tanker and that it had caused “significant discolouration” to the River Dulais.
When a milk tanker overturns in the river #llanwrda #wales #milk pic.twitter.com/vnyhr5FXBi
— May 🏴 (@MayLewis19) April 14, 2021
A spokesperson for the NRW said: “We responded to a road traffic collision along the River Dulais, Llanwrda, Carmarthenshire, that involved a milk tanker which had left the road and entered the river.
The tanker was carrying milk and an unknown quantity has escaped and entered the river.
“This has led to significant discoloration along the river and NRW officers have been on site to assess the impact and will continue in the morning.”
Traffic monitoring system Inrix said that the road remained closed between the A40 Llandeilo turn off and Bridgend Inn.
It warned motorists: “Road has been closed since Wednesday afternoon and will remain closed into Thursday morning as the tanker still needs to be emptied and recovered.”
Decrease in road accidents
Recent trends in reported road casualties in Great Britain have been impacted by the national restrictions implemented from March 2020 onwards, following the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic.
Figures for the year ending June 2020 show that:
- There were 1,580 reported road deaths, a decrease of 14% compared to the previous year;
- There were 131,220 casualties of all severities, a decrease of 16%;
- The reduction in casualties is broadly in line with the fall in motor vehicle traffic of 14% over the same period.
Data from Highways England – which operates the country’s motorways and major A roads – show there were 250 fatalities on its Strategic Road Network in 2018 (the most recent year with recorded data), up from 236 in 2017, and the highest figure on record since 2011, when 251 people died.
