A milk truck slid off the motorway and crashed into a ditch on the Möykyntie road in the southern Ostrobothnian village of Päntäne on Thursday afternoon.
The truck driver was unhurt in the incident, but the crash resulted in some 5000-7000 litres of milk pouring into the ditch. Rescue workers spent the afternoon trying to prevent the milk from spreading further, due to concerns that it could seep into waterways.
A vacuum truck had been dispatched to the scene of the accident to clean the area and bring the spilled milk to a biowaste treatment facility.
Jani Välimaa of southern Ostrobothnia’s rescue department said milk is harmful when it gets into lakes and rivers.
“Even though we drink it every day, it can deplete oxygen levels in water, and consequently kills fish,” Välimaa said, noting that when milk spills into nature it becomes an environmental toxin.
The accident occurred under normal winter conditions for this time of year, and the milk truck was travelling at a slow speed, according to Välimaa, who said work to pull the truck out of the ditch would last about two to three hours.