Event
- Event ID
- 287
- Quality
- Description
A truck loaded with 22 hydrogen cylinders pallets (370 litres each) was traveling on a national highway. While stopped at a traffic light, it was rear-ended by a large truck which damaged the piping and valves of the pallets, causing hydrogen gas to eject and ignite.
Both drivers were killed, and two passers-by were injured. In addition, nearby shops and houses were set on fire. The truck driver had fallen asleep while driving.- Event Initiating system
- Classification of the physical effects
- Hydrogen Release and Ignition
- Nature of the consequences
- fire
- Macro-region
- Asia
- Country
- Japan
- Date
- Component involved
- valve (generic)
- Failure mode
- rupture & ignition
- Initiating cause
- impact, rollover, crash
- Root CAUSE analysis
The INITIATING CAUSE was the failure of a conventional component (tyre) .
The ROOT CAUSE was probably the lack of effective protection of the pressure and flow control system of the cylinders, which were not designed for impacts coming collisions from the vehicles.- Root causes
- Date entry in HIAD
- 30/08/2025
Facility
- Application
- Hydrogen transport and distribution
- Sub-application
- CGH2 cylinders truck
- Hydrogen supply chain stage
- All components affected
piping, valves
- Process temperature range [C]
- ambient temperature (-50°C to +50°C)
- Process pressure range [MPa]
- medium to high pressure (10 to 50 MPa)
- Location type
- Open
- Location
- highway or similar
- Operational condition
- Pre-event occurrences
22 pallets of 370 l each gives a total water capacity of 8 m3. Assuming a pressure of 200 bar, it provide estimation of the transported quantity of ca. 120 kg
Emergency & Consequences
- Number of fatalities
- 2
- Number of injured persons
- 2
In-depth data
- Release type
- gas
- Involved substances (% vol)
- H2 100%
- Release temperature [°C]
- 25
- Probable IGNITION SOURCE
References
- Sources categories
- KHK
- Reference & weblink
High Pressure Gas Accident Cases Database of the KHK (High Pressure Gas Safety Association):
https://www.khk.or.jp/public_information/incident_investigation/hpg_inc…
(accessed May 2025)
