A man was confirmed dead in a traffic accident that led to a spill of sulphuric acid in east China's Zhejiang Province on Thursday, and local authorities are investigating the environmental impact of the accident, official sources said on Friday.

A truck smashed into a tanker carrying 30 tons of sulphuric acid on a highway near Jinhua City around 1:00 AM Thursday. The collision damaged the valve of the tanker and sulphuric acid began to leak out.

The truck driver was trapped in the cab. The co-driver managed to get out but was overcome by the fumes of the leaking sulphuric acid. He was rushed to hospital but died after failing to respond to medical treatment.

Rescue efforts were hampered because traffic police and firemen could not reach the trapped driver as the sulphuric acid kept spilling out. When the tank emptied, rescuers dragged the tanker away and rescued the driver from the cab.

Traffic resumed on the highway after 4:00 AM Thursday.

Local environmental authorities are trying to determine whether the sulphuric acid polluted soil or water.

Preliminary investigations by traffic police suggest that the tanker was running too slowly and the truck driver was tired after long hours behind the wheel.

(Xinhua News Agency December 8, 2006)