Firefighters tend to a van that burst into flames after it collided with a concrete wall Monday, Oct. 7, 2013 in Vancouver. Police said gasoline caused the explosions, not meth lab chemicals, as they had suggested earlier.JESSICA WILSON
Police now say gasoline, not chemicals from a mobile meth lab, was to blame for fire and explosions that destroyed a van after a collision Monday afternoon.
The clarification came after suggestions by police that the van, which collided with a wall, might have been a mobile meth lab.
In a statement early Monday evening, police backed off the meth suggestion.
"While the cause of the collision is still under investigation, it has been determined that gasoline, not chemicals or a meth lab, were involved in the fire and explosions that destroyed the van involved,"
police said in the statement.
A man and woman in a car also hit by the van have minor injuries, police said.
The incident, and fears about chemical contamination, prompted police to evacuate residents in the area around the collision and also call in hazardous materials specialists from the fire department.
Police earlier said two men fled from the van after the collision, leading to the deployment of a police dog to track them down.
Ian Bailey