A scary situation that began Sunday night when a tanker carrying a highly flammable liquid overturned near the Mississippi River ended Monday afternoon with little damage and no injuries.

The spill took place Sunday night in a parking lot adjacent to Bally’s Casino and Hotel on Warrenton Road. Officials with Vicksburg Police Department (VPD) said the driver of an 18-wheeler carrying chlorobenzene – a highly flammable solvent often used as a degreaser – unhitched his truck’s cabin and left the area, returning some time later to find the tanker on its side and leaking its contents.

“It’s been extremely hot and that caused the asphalt to soften a bit,” VPD Deputy Chief Troy Kimble said. “So the asphalt gave. Once it did, (the tanker) shifted. At that point the liquid inside of the tank started moving around and gravity did what it does; it flipped (the tanker).”

Vicksburg Fire Chief Derrick Stamps on Sunday night said the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) was on site overnight to aid in the clean-up effort. Monday morning, Kimble said a secure tanker arrived on site at around 10:30 a.m. to begin the process of pumping out the remainder of the chlorobenzene. 

“All went well,” Kimble said. “By about 3 p.m. it was drained and we were able to move it all off-site.”

VPD and other agencies involved in the clean-up process asked Monday that a 300-yard radius be cleared around the lot and entrances to Bally’s were blocked off. Officials said Bally’s itself remained open throughout the duration of the clean-up, as did Warrenton Road. 

Kimble said no injuries were reported as a result of the accident and there was no harm done to the nearby river or environment as a whole.