Authorities worked through the early morning hours to clean up a chemical spill following a traffic accident involving a truck transporting heavy equipment and pesticide containers. The incident happened near Hot Mamas in Unitedville village and involved a red flatbed truck carrying a bulldozer mounted on a 40-foot flatbed trailer. According to eyewitnesses, the bulldozer was loaded with boxes of chemicals which became partially crushed during the crash, causing some of the contents to spill onto the roadway. Fortunately, no fatalities or serious injuries were reported.
Attempts were made to reach the National Emergency Management Organization for assistance, but calls reportedly went unanswered. Efforts to get support from Belize Natural Energy and the Belize Fire Department were also unsuccessful. Help was eventually secured through the Spanish Lookout Fire Department, which connected responders with a private company, Dirt Bucket. The company arrived on site at approximately 2:37 in the morning to begin the cleanup. An excavator mounted on a trailer was used to dig out contaminated soil while a dump truck was brought in to remove and transport the affected material.
Officials from the Pesticides Control Board of Belize were also notified. The truck involved in the incident reportedly belongs to the owners of a popular machinery supply company.
