Traffic chaos after oil tanker crash leaves three injured
The driver of the tanker and the two women travelling in the car avoided life-threatening injuries in the crash about eight kilometres outside Kanturk.
Emergency services were called to the scene at around 11am and all three were taken by ambulance to Cork University Hospital.
The driver of the truck and one of the women were described as being in a stable condition last night, while the second woman’s condition was comfortable.
The truck was heading towards Mallow when it collided with the Toyota Corolla approaching in the opposite direction.
A young woman was driving the car and her mother was a passenger.
An investigation is underway, but the impact of the crash appears to have caused the tanker to turn over on its side.
It ended up on the right-hand side of the road and had to be lifted by specialist equipment.
Gardaí from Kanturk spoke to a number of witnesses at the scene but have also appealed for anybody with information to contact them at (029) 50002.
Although a lot of oil and diesel leaked onto the road, gardaí said this was from the engines of the vehicles and the tanker itself was not pierced.
Traffic on the busy N72 route, which carries thousands of motorists between Waterford and Killarney through north Co Cork every day, had to be diverted for at least five hours.
Five units of fire services from nearby Kanturk and Millstreet attended the scene, between Ballymacquirke Cross and the Sandpit House bar.
The tanker belongs to Shreelawn Oil Company, an east Cork-based company which has depots in Kildorrery and Newmarket in north Cork.
