Deacons Corner re-opens after gasoline flooded intersection from semi collision

UPDATE:  The junction of Hwy 1 and Hwy 207 has been re-opened as of 10:25 Thursday morning.

The Trans Canada highway was blocked on a busy intersection outside of Winnipeg on Thursday.

RCMP closed Deacons Corner at midnight, after a collision involving two semis.

According to RCMP, a semi carrying 56,000 litres of gasoline in two tankers was traveling east on Hwy. 1.

The semi attempted to turn northbound onto Hwy. 207 at the time of the collision.

RCMP said it was then struck by another semi travelling westbound on Hwy. 1, causing the second tanker full of gas to rupture.

“The collision caused one of the tankers to rupture, spilling a large amount of fuel onto Hwy. 207 and into the intersection,” RCMP wrote in a media release.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "The collision caused one of the tankers to rupture, spilling a large amount of fuel onto Hwy. 207 and into the intersection," RCMP wrote in a media release.

According to police, there are no reported injuries and alcohol is not a factor.

A nearby motel was evacuated as a precautionary measure.

“There were a couple of people from the motel, not many, but we had to keep them in our police vehicle to keep them warm,” said RCMP Cpl. David Portelance.

“In this temperature, we had no other choice than to find a place warm, and it happened to be our police car that was the warmest, which was perfect.”

Portelance said they were all safely returned back to their motel rooms around 7 a.m.

A gas station was also closed due to the incident, and Portelance said it remains closed due to frozen pumps.

As of 8:30 a.m, officers said they remain on scene and continue to investigate.

Traffic was being re-routed to Dugald Road.