Video: UPDATE: Tanker on Hwy 82 Reportedly Leaking Anhydrous Ammonia Prompts Evacuation

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MATHISTON, Miss. (WCBI) — Some homes in Mathiston were evacuated Wednesday night, after a tanker started leaking an ammonia vapor.

Highway 82 is closed from the four-way stop in Mathiston to Fox Run Road. The Natchez Trace Parkway is also shut down until the evacuation order is lifted.

The Mississippi Highway Patrol said the tanker truck, operated by KCI Trucking of Mulberry, Florida, reported a leak about 7:30 PM.

The tanker was carrying Anhydrous Ammonia Liquid.

As of 11:30 PM Wednesday, the leak presented an inhalation hazard to the public and not a fire hazard.

Mathiston Police Chief Roger Miller said 250-300 residents within a half mile radius of the tanker were evacuated and businesses were closed.

A temporary shelter was up at Double Springs Baptist Church on Sturgis-Maben Road.

Compounding the problem is the fact that winds in the area are low; not allowing the vapor to dissipate.

The Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality and the Starkville Hazmat Team were called to the scene. They are determining when the evacuation order can be lifted.

Plans call for the Anhydrous Ammonia Liquid to be offloaded to a second truck that is in route to Mathiston.

Miller described how quickly he was overcome by the vapor, “It was just a very strong chemical smell and especially the closest street we evacuated. It would burn the throat, nose, and eyes extremely bad.”

The Webster County Emergency Management Agency, Webster County Sheriff’s Department, Mississippi Highway Patrol, Natchez Trace Parkway Rangers, and numerous volunteer fire departments were assisting at the scene.