Evacuation order lifted after National Guard truck spill

HUGO, Oklahoma (CNN) -- An evacuation order has been lifted here after U.S. Army officials cleared the scene of a military accident.

Thursday morning, an Oklahoma National Guard vehicle carrying rocket pods for the Army's Multiple Launch Rocket System overturned on U.S. 271, just south of U.S. 70, spilling explosives on the roadway.

According to Lt. Col. Pat Scully with the Army National Guard in Oklahoma City, two guardsmen were injured in the accident, but their injuries were not life-threatening.

	MESSAGE BOARD
The U.S. military

One of the injured soldiers was transported to Integris Baptist Medical Center in Oklahoma City to undergo neurological exams. The other was transferred to St. Joseph's Hospital in Paris, Texas.

As a precautionary measure, Capt. Gerald Davidson with the Oklahoma Highway Patrol said officers evacuated a one-mile radius around the accident, including an elementary school several blocks away.

"Any time you deal with explosives or even an overturned vehicle, there is a danger factor because of the fuel in the vehicle itself," Davidson said.

The truck was carrying M26 rocket pods used for training, with each pod containing six rockets. A container holding rockets separated from one of two pods damaged in the accident. Because these are training rockets, there were no warheads attached, but an Explosive Ordinance Demolition team was sent to the scene from Fort Sill, Oklahoma, to aid in transferring to the cargo to another military vehicle.

"Precautions were taken and one of the reasons is even though the rockets were not armed with warheads, they do all contain propulsion systems to make them go," Scully said.

The 5-ton tractor was part of a convoy traveling from Camden, Arkansas, to the Army Ammunition Depot in McAlester, Oklahoma, where military munitions are stored. Davidson said the trooper on the scene determined the driver of the truck was going too quickly to make the turn onto the ramp to U.S. 70.

All of the cargo was loaded onto another truck which continued on to McAlester.

Hugo is located about 100 miles south of Tulsa.

For more US news, myCNN.com will bring you news from the areas and subjects you select.

United States Army

Note: Pages will open in a new browser window

External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.