NNSL (Mar 18/98) - A fuel truck overturned on the Ingraham Trail early Monday afternoon, spilling between 4,000 and 5,000 litres of diesel fuel into the ditch beside the road.

The tanker, carrying a total load of 42,000 litres of fuel north along the trail, separated itself from the tractor a few kilometres past the Dettah turnoff.

The driver reportedly swerved towards the ditch to avoid an oncoming Jeep Cherokee, according to Marvin Robinson, president of RTL-Robinson, which owns the truck.

"The vehicle he had met had not giving him enough room," Robinson said.

He said the truck's driver thought he was safely on the edge of the road but miscalculated.

"Obviously, he moved over just a little too far," Robinson said, adding that the driver questioned his reaction afterwards.

"One thing for sure is that you can buy metal every day but you can't replace anybody's life. I would just as soon not get entangled with a small vehicle," said Robinson.

RCMP Const. Cliff McKay said the police have not been able to identify the vehicle in question. "There are no charges pending against anybody at this time," McKay said.

The fuel, loaded in Hay River, was bound for one of the resupply points on the winter road north of Yellowknife. The accident caused minor delays for other motorists.

Robinson said approximately 55 trucks use the route every day and close to 1,700 trips will have been made by the end of the winter.

"It's unfortunate that it happens but once in a while it does," he said.

"We have trained emergency response teams on staff for incidents like this. (Monday) was a good example of making darn sure that we keep our staff trained."