Part of the Birkirkara bypass was closed to traffic on Wednesday afternoon after an accident involving a car and truck led to a major diesel spill.

The spill occurred at the roundabout of Triq Dun Karm leading to Triq Ganu in Birkirkara at around 3.30pm after a car and truck collided. 

The truck's fuel tank burst, spilling diesel onto the road. 

It is the second major oil spill that took place on Maltese roads in the past three months. A flyover at the Marsa junction was closed to traffic back in May after a truck carrying cooking oil dropped around 200 litres of its payload, forcing a road closure and emergency road works. 

A member of the Civil Protection Department told Times of Malta that nobody injured in the Birkirkara accident. 

However, the crash caused major traffic tailback on the key road. Motorists reported being stuck in gridlock traffic for up to an hour, with the final stretch of the bypass in the Lija-bound direction closed to traffic. 

CPD officials were deployed to clear up the spillage, using a fine sand that can absorb the fuel.