According to media reports, the truck was loaded with 500 litres of gasoline. Local emergency services responded to the site of the incident. The cause reportedly remains unknown.
A spokesperson with the Sverdlovsk regional police department Valery Gorelykh said that the road accident occurred at 00:15 local time on Sunday.
The driver of the fuel truck, loaded with 500 litres of gasoline, violated safety measures by inviting 7 people on board after refueling and, as a result, the driver could not steer the heavy vehicle and overturned it into a ditch. The truck caught fire and exploded. At least 3 people were killed in the accident, according to the police.
According to the spokesman, six people suffered various injuries and burns and were hospitalized.
According to media reports, local firefighters extinguished the blaze. The police have reportedly identified the people that were killed and injured in the accident. A part of the nearby forest caught fire after the explosion, but the flames were also promptly extinguished.
The spokesperson said later that the number of injured had reached seven people, including a minor. According to the police, an examination had shown that the truck driver was drunk at the time of the accident.
"The police determined that the tank truck driver, born in 1968, was drunk at the time of the disaster. This was confirmed by an examination [carried out] by police officers", Gorelykh said.
