Contractor Burned Cleaning Tank At Palmyra Gas Station

A contractor cleaning an empty fuel tank at a gas station on Route 73 in Palmyra near the Tacony-Palmyra Bridge has been severely burned.

Police tell the Courier-Post newspaper the contractor for Gulf Oil somehow created a spark which apparently caused an explosion.

Police say residual fuel in the tank also caught fire. Firefighters filled the tank with foam.

The injured contractor was taken to Cooper University Hospital in Camden. His identity was not immediately released.

The accident occurred at about 12:30 p.m. about a half mile from the Tacono-Palmyra Bridge. Rouee 73 was closed for several hours but reopened just befire 3 p.m.