THE BIGGEST EXPLOSION IN QUEENSLAND? - THE ANGELLALA BRIDGE DISASTER

[@BillyHuntsilly]

In the Inspectorate Report it was calculated that 2 1/4 bulker bags ( 2 1/4 tonne ) was what the blast consisted off. The rest of the load was dispersed by the blast. There would’ve been a huge hole if 52 tonnes blew. Enjoyable video Cam, thank you

[@George-dl7gv]

I was living in Charleville at the time about 30 klms away. I had just gone to bed and had my headphones on listening to the football. I felt the house vibrate and thought something had hit it. I went outside to investigate but saw nothing. It wasn't till the next morning I learned what had actually happened.

[@breathedeepandseekadventur7302]

That's really cool Cam. I love how much history is hidden in our backyard

[@camcarteradventures]

Thanks very much. It’s surprising how much history is preserved in western qld.

[@davideast5987]

Amazingly today I was talking to an old resident of Cunnamulla and he was lamenting the closure of the railway and how it led to the closure of the sale yards. The Angelala Creek explosion is still felt by the locals. Thanks for the video.

[@camcarteradventures]

@@davideast5987 there is so much history along the old rail corridors. Thanks for watching.

[@leonwittwer1199]

My late wife and I drove our caravan under the old bridge and parked against the fence for 3 nights,just relaxing,watching the trucks passing by and generally feeling lazy not realising that about 3 weeks later,watching tv news we would be seeing our quiet campsite totally destroyed!

[@presentlypresentingmyprese7058]

One of my friends was one of the first responders that was involved in this. Took him and his crew years to recover from their injuries. Some are long lasting ones. Poor guys.

[@no2thenwo737]

Thanks, mate. I always wondered what the aftermath of that explosion was after seeing it on the news all those years ago. Awesome.

[@WeeJasperVetClinic]

Amazing true story. Glad someone is documenting some of our darkest innocents.

[@darlingdownstransportservi3529]

I know the bloke who led the firies into that...he was a Charleville based tradie who thought they were responding to a car accident...they had no idea and after the hit the dirt when the tyres blew, the big explosion went up and it was 1.5m above them. If they'd been standing they would all be in graves

[@camcarteradventures]

Imagine if this occurred in the city😮

[@BradGryphonn]

Not sure if it has been mentioned but there was another ammonium nitrate explosion near Taroom in 1972. This resulted in the death of the driver and two lads from a property nearby who rode their motorbikes to the crash site to assist.

[@camcarteradventures]

@@BradGryphonn that’s tragic. There was also a fatal explosion near Gladstone in August 2024. This one was “only” carrying 42tonnes.

[@bobbebbington5356]

The only thing found from that explosion was the engine block.

[@evil17]

@@camcarteradventureswasn’t there a similar explosion in WA some years ago where three B Double Tankers in convoy were full of Ammonium Nitrate enroute to a mine, one of the Tankers had a blown out rear tyre on his rear trailer and noticed it had started a fire, he tried to put it out but it soon became worse, so he and the other Tankers got a couple kms away from it before it exploded and left a huge crater.

[@peterfalconer-h3k]

@@evil17 It was actually a single two trailer road train, not a convoy. The fire was on the rear trailer, the driver unhooked it and was a couple of km's away when it exploded. The crater was about 1.5 meters deep and about 10 meters across, the WA mines dept were on site investigating what happened when I went past where it happened about 48 hours afterwards.

[@jollyroger3160]

I used to work at an underground crusher years ago. The draw point sometimes got frozen up if they stopped the crusher for maintenance for a couple of days. Most times you could get it flowing again with loader bucket, but on one occasion we had to get 50kg of nitroprill and give it a tickle down. We stood about 150-200 meters around the corner and let it rip. Man that was bloody loud. I could only imagine the force of 52 tonnes would be like. A open air explosion is way worse than an explosion that is done in the face of a cutting. Ps I’ve stood around the corner of a cutting firing as well 😂

[@johnblyth9787]

How any one survived this is unbelievable. 52 tones would be like Heroshima going up. The state of the fire truck tells some of it. A great video of a treible tradgerdy.

[@geraldinemoreno1486]

What an amazing story and also about the Bible. I am so glad that that piece of information was included on the sign. I am sure his guardian angel was looking after him.

[@ronchappel4812]

Thanks for posting this Cam.Very interesting

[@4TheMotorist]

I had no idea of this until now. Would have been a huge event to. Imagine finding the bits over 1km away 😲 Thats a big Bang!!

[@kerrycahill3105]

I remember this. Great video. Thanks for posting.

[@ClissaT]

Its all very sad. But the fact the rail line wasn't rebuilt it really bad. And closure of the sale yards must hurt the town even today. No more train to Charleville and Cunnamulla.

[@baobo67]

Thanks, Very interesting story and well told, Cheers from Sydney,

[@camcarteradventures]

Cheers. Glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for watching 👍

[@sagittarius-gu6mv]

Amazing that considering how big the flash and concussion would have been that everyone survived.

[@roderernst9990]

One of Firies actually caught some of the Explosion on his phone. Smart thinking had all people below the road .

[@mikebarbe9424]

thanks mate for your video From what I've read it was the knowledge gained by the wonderful first responders.,from the fatal explosion north of Taroom in 1972 that saved the lives of the people at Angellala Ck.

[@williamhumphrey9766]

I remember it well. Thanks for the memories. One wonders what happened to the driver's life from here.

[@harls9287]

Psalm 31 worked for him that day😂 good vid bud. Thanks for taking the time to make it and may the subscriptions roll in for you good sir.👍

[@PeterEllis-xv5ct]

Yes As a Young Man i can Remember Nitram Fertiliser being Delivered In Bulk Aluminium Tippers Great Video Definitely go See the Spot One Day

[@digger1900]

Great video

[@Steve211Ucdhihifvshi]

Wow, if ever someone needed more proof they survived via miracle. Go check out the remnants of that verse. Thanks for the video mate!

[@axelknutt5065]

Bloody hell! Why didn’t I know about this? Excellent doco 👍🏻

[@mitchmackenzie3293]

Thank you for making this!

[@TheF150flareside]

Ammonium nitrate mixed with diesel makes anfo one of the most powerful explosives

[@djblc2201]

Great story mate thanks for posting.

[@camcarteradventures]

Thanks for watching!

[@W_H_K]

A diesel truck carrying ammonium nitrate, that’s called AnFo on wheels. A very dangerous load indeed.

[@HJZ75driver]

Not correct. ANFO is slurry. Not prill.

[@W_H_K]

@ Ok, technically correct. But look at the bridge.

[@menoname3594]

The nature of the failure of the rail bridge pylons indicates that they are cast iron and not steel.

[@markfarnham6918]

I was working in Roma and remember this when it happened.

[@benjamincumming84]

Great video cam, just wondering if the trucks insurance policy will be paying for both of those bridges to be replaced 🤔

[@G.C.Energy]

The truck was a 2 trailer roadtrain. It stopped in Roma to refuel and then Charleville where the driver had a meal.The blast area was 4 kilometres across.Survey teams measured the radius.The cost of the accident was many millions.There were other trucks nearby which were badly damaged by the blast.

[@t-rocks1960]

Awesome mate, a lot of guts, smarts, and luck that day I think..

[@camcarteradventures]

That’s T-Rocks. Someone was looking out for them that day.

[@Chris-b7h9c]

TMR would of been looking for his log book for months lol

[@t-dog8528]

Nhvr still is

[@helenowen5408]

Probably wanted to book him for illegal parking 🤣🍻🇭🇲

[@TheByard]

I worked in tunnel construction, one tunnel we dug was under the rivers Severn and Wye England and Wales UK. The ground was limestone and the tunnel was 18 ft. wide, we drilled 10 ft. deep hole pattern and used 84 lbs. of gelignite to pull that rock in manageable size lumps. So I can't imagen a whole truck load going up, thank God it didn't happen in a town or settlement it was passing through.

[@skylinevspec000]

For comparison Remember the cement truck on mythbusters.. that was ONLY 2.5t of ammonium Nitrate

[@villiersman951]

yeh and that was big enough

[@camcarteradventures]

@@skylinevspec000 I’ll have to check that one out.

[@Classickoolcars]

Truck went away…….😱😱😱😱

[@jarrod1687]

Holy shit, that really puts things into perspective

[@deanedeane4318]

Nice job ! Thankyou for sharing ! Did those 3 men buy Lotto tickets ? And that's so trippy about the Bible page ! Amen that ! ♥️😉🙃😎 NZ

[@rodevans602]

Interesting report… Thank you!

[@camcarteradventures]

Thanks for watching. 👍

[@TassyDeval]

5:14 You said they drove fire truck on top of hill, but it was barely 25m from bridge. No wonder it was destroyed so much.

[@helenowen5408]

Bloody big boom but was it as big as the mt Mulligan coal mine explosion in 1921 🤔🤔 Either way it was a huge blast and very lucky no one died. Thanks for posting this its very interesting 👍🍻🇭🇲

[@camcarteradventures]

Cheers. Thanks for watching. Not sure how big the Mt Mulligan blast was but 75 died. So by that metric, it was certainly the biggest tragedy.

[@helenowen5408]

​@@camcarteradventures yeah it's definitely hard to quantify it without instruments in place.🍻🇭🇲

[@roblachman8919]

Great report. 👍

[@camcarteradventures]

Cheers, thanks for watching!

[@chrigdichein]

Awesome 👍🏽 thank you very much for that inside

[@paulsiebert4863]

2:10 Am I remembering correctly - didn't one or other of these fire trucks shield people from the major blast?

[@trevorzealley729]

Poignant tale for travelers .

[@cukymonster33]

Thanks for the video, Please do something about your wind noise.

[@camcarteradventures]

A new mic is coming….

[@iamthatiam44444]

Very interesting 👍

[@dawsie]

It’s just a shame that the trucking industry did not learn from that disaster and are still shipping the huge bags of ammonia nitrate the last explosion happened only last year when another truck carrying the same payload was hit and exploded. Ever since the labour government started to close down the railways throughout the bush, it’s closed down so many small towns along with their livelihood. The trucking industry was small back in the 70’s and as each new closure came into effect the trucking industry was growing in strength. Unfortunately the roads have not changed or improved with the increased traffic of bigger faster trucks. 16 years ago there were not that many trucks out our way hauling double trailers, these days they are all double trailers which have suddenly increased too triple trailers. Those use to only been seen further west to me once past Goondiwindie, not any more. The railways said they are rebuilding the lines out our way to help with taking some of the freight trucks off the roads. I will believe that when a train pulls up in our tiny town.

[@brutechurchill]

Amazing.

[@iksexplorationsfollower2588]

I remember that happening.

[@camcarteradventures]

And it happened again a few months ago…..

[@evil17]

@@camcarteradventuresWas that just north of Bororen in late August?

[@SteveMack]

I had no idea, the explosion was big enough to register on the Richter scale!👀

[@camcarteradventures]

@@SteveMack there wasn’t much debris near the bridge. It just left a smooth crater.

[@SteveMack]

@@camcarteradventures So I saw...reminded me a bit of the B52 bomb drop craters I saw in Vietnam (as a tourist - I'm not THAT old)

[@detecting_Nathanael]

Anfo does make a mess. What about the Cairns BLEVE in 1985? That was pretty speccy but, from memory, also killed three people.

[@iv2sab]

What happened to the rail line? They didn't rebuild the railroad bridge. Was it replaced by another line?

[@George-dl7gv]

That is the Charleville to Cunumulla line which had already been closed some years beforehand.

[@camcarteradventures]

Closed in 2011. No passenger trains since 1994.

[@joemay9077]

One blew up last year near Gladstone around October, was carrying 42tonns I heard it from 50km away I know people that heard it 100km away

[@JohnNotman-w6s]

Amazing how the 2 tanks mixed majicaly all through most of nítrates and majicaly got a shock to majicàly detonate all the trailerß .

[@HailHydra27]

I remember an episode of The Bush Tucker Man where he trecked out to the site on Cape York where they detonated enough tnt to simulate a nuke just to see what would happen if they dropped them on Vietnam. I wonder how that stacks up against this one

[@MickH60]

There was one at Taroom in QLD in 1972 that killed 3 people, same thing, a truck full of ammonium Nitrate...

[@andrewdavis8137]

Great video.

[@camcarteradventures]

@@andrewdavis8137 thanks 🙏🏾

[@logsie3918]

Isn't that a class 1 chemical that isn't allowed on the road? The one on the Bruce highway last year was a class 1 I read in the reports which have to go be rail only is that correct?

[@richo1177]

No we get ammonium nitrate deliveries every dai, class 5.1 oxidising agent

[@HJZ75driver]

Not class 1. Class 4 oxidising agent. Class 1 is explosive. and still able to be carted via road

[@Alan_Hans__]

That's an amazing story and more so that everyone got out okay. I have a super loose tie in with that explosion. That explosion caused the destruction of the rail line to Cunamulla which was never re-opened. The rail line closure led to the sale yards to close. That's where my tie in comes in. While flying from Bendigo, Vic to Comet, Qld in a Cessna 337 decades ago we were flying into Cunamulla as an overnight stop. It was after dark and the GPS had died 15 minutes into the trip so we were flying by radio beacon and every 5 minutes or so the pilot would double click the mic which turns on airport lights. Eventually we saw lights come on and were glad that we could land. It turns out the lights we saw were actually the Cunamulla saleyards and not the airport runway lights which were actually not far up the road. After we landed we were picked up by local celebrity Arthur from Arthurs Flash Cabs in his HQ bench (front) seat taxi.

[@franmahy5782]

where would all that nitrate be going??

[@SteveMack]

👍

[@interceptor7905]

QR had an excuse to shut the railway line!Never bothered to fix it😢

[@supertoastboi]

They could fix the road but not the track?

[@Chopper1392]

If you walk around in that creek, there are still pieces of steel and debris scattered everywhere

[@maxrockatanksyOG]

Anyone remember that Vietnam Vet guy that broke into the Ammonium Nitrate site in Central Qld & blew up like 40 ton of the shit? Would have been in the 1980's from memory, he went & either fought for or against the Tamal Tigers towards the end of the 1980's

[@chiefy1402]

How did the single vehicle roll over occur. It is a very straight stretch of road.

[@interceptor7905]

Prolly fatigue

[@HJZ75driver]

fell asleep

[@navaho5430]

Stuff in the middle of nowhere a lot happens been there cheers.

[@Mick_4591]

And don't ast to like and subscribe If you dont answer questions that maybe asked

[@Antipodean33]

Why didn't the firemen move the injured fella away immediately, instead of waiting for a small explosion to go off before deciding to make the move? Surely they would've seen the load, seen the fuel spilling and realized that this could be a potential war zone type explosion, which happened. Checkout that fire truck and it was parked way away, I can't work out why they didn't move the injured immediately for everyone's safety

[@russellclement2058]

Incredible!! but there's been a couple since ,, in Bagool a Semi ( prime movers suspension collapsed and I think the urea that was on the trailer squashed the diesel tanks and up she went ,, I believe the driver died

[@michaelhayden725]

By the look of it the rail line was not rebuilt!

[@zazzleman]

Who is here from T-ROCKS?

[@discowest2557]

Pretty sure another Truck Driver was First on Scene and Assisted the Driver of the Crashed Truck.

[@unclefester5418]

Correct

[@Handleyman]

I wonder if the authorities still allow trucks that run on diesel to carry ammonium nitrate?

[@450tank]

Yes they do. How else would they transport it?

[@HJZ75driver]

Bit of a reach.

[@Handleyman]

@@450tank something that runs on petrol.

[@450tank]

@Handleyman Ever seen a Kenworth or Mack that runs on petrol? I don't think anyone else has either. Diesel engines are used in trucks because they make a lot more torque than petrol engines, allowing them to haul significantly heavier loads.

[@WeeJasperVetClinic]

1966, Westall UFO landing & sightings in Victoria Australia.

[@Noelzsazsa]

Interesting

[@harryricochet8134]

Not even remotely close. The 1963 Operation Blowdown detonation in Cape York's Kutini-Payamu jungle was by far the biggest man-made explosion in Queensland history.

[@garyspeed8961]

Bloody Hell.. are we still driving DD's with 50 tonnes of AN through urban areas?

[@HJZ75driver]

Where’s the urban area?

[@garyspeed8961]

@HJZ75driver its a general question. do these trucks drive thru urban areas?

[@paulperry7091]

In 1963 in North Queensland, 50 tons of TNT were exploded on a tower to simulate atomic bomb damage. Called Operatopn Blowdown, it reached 3.4 om the Richter scale. Video here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/gHO1fWWBlLRof7M&ab_channel=AtomicTestsChannel

[@lis819]

Why didn’t they rebuild the railroad?

[@camcarteradventures]

The Cunnamulla rail line officially closed in 2011. Passenger trains ceased operating in 1994.

[@Bibibosh]

i dont belive for a minute that Psalm 31 page was found... i think perhaps this was cherry picked because of the situation. id like to see some proof as that page would be very intersting to authenticate

[@zwarst]

Well the terrorist passports survived miraculously on 911..

[@dtec30]

There was s big one in Cairns quite a few years ago now a gas tanker on rails went thru and blew and killed a friends husband there may have been more but only one i was told about

[@logic.and.reasoning]

Incorrect. The explosion of a ship carrying munitions that opened Jumpinpin Bar, or the test up north by the military would be the largest i believe.

[@t-dog8528]

Maralinga

[@logic.and.reasoning]

@t-dog8528 "non nuclear", in QUEENSLAND

[@camcarteradventures]

@@logic.and.reasoning thanks for the info. I’ll definitely look into those. I deliberately put a “?” In my title as I was sure there were other big blasts as well. But this one must have been up there.

[@logic.and.reasoning]

@camcarteradventures Jumpinpin Bar was a fascinating story that most Australians don't know. Cheers mate.

[@chrisward5626]

What we do to keep that coal industry going .😊

[@TheWomanattheWellJohn4v14KJV]

Psalm 31 v 23 the Lord preserveth the faithful.....

[@Hungry_Hunter]

How they were ever permitted to transport such a large quantity of Nitroprill in one load is beyond my comprehension.

[@Noelzsazsa]

Yeah I don't understand it myself further more containment canister should be used to prevent this it's often transport as stock feed supplement and other categories to avoid costs associated with hazardous goods I was told that a lot moves by road this way the average village idiot the owners of the transport company have working for them have no idea

[@peterfalconer-h3k]

@@Noelzsazsa It's not transported as a stockfeed supplement and drivers carrying it need a dangerous goods license.

[@t-dog8528]

A dog is safe until it bites, just don't add diesel and pril is safe as too

[@Noelzsazsa]

@@peterfalconer-h3k your exactly the village idiot that believes everyone is following the rules in Australia

[@HJZ75driver]

@@NoelzsazsaDrivers need DG licence. Not just idiots

[@AwesomeAngryBiker]

I wouldn't really be calling this a disaster, click bait title

[@HJZ75driver]

Very much was. Knocked the bridge out of comission for 9mths. 650km diversion

[@geoffmccoll4640]

Um Mate, the reality of living without Taliban beard?

[@HJZ75driver]

what?

[@Mick_4591]

If your going to make videos Do something about a better mic and that wind in the mic

[@AW-pz3qc]

The mic needs a sock on it

[@camcarteradventures]

@@Mick_4591 I definitely look in to it. I’m just using the basic GoPro 9 at the moment.

[@utubetrutharrowmichael-and9105]

​Can hear you loud & Clear brother ! If that's the f****** worst thing that goes on with these people's week they've got f*** all the winge about ​@@camcarteradventures

[@terencegraham8414]

Good info mate

[@leonwittwer1199]

My late wife and I drove our caravan under the old bridge and parked against the fence for 3 nights,just relaxing,watching the trucks passing by and generally feeling lazy not realising that about 3 weeks later,watching tv news we would be seeing our quiet campsite totally destroyed!

[@tonyk7943]

👍