Several injuries reported after giant fire at pipeline
CLEBURNE, Texas - A large natural gas line in north Texas
erupted Monday after utility workers accidentally hit the line, sending a column
of fire into the air and leaving one worker dead, officials said.
An
emergency management official said a utility worker's body was found several
hours after the blast.
Authorities searched for the worker by helicopter Monday
afternoon following the massive explosion near Cleburne, about 50 miles
southwest of Dallas. They couldn't walk through the entire area until making
sure the fire was out and there was no danger.
Hood County Emergency Management Coordinator Brian Fine
said the worker's body was found Monday night some distance from the blast site.
The man's name was not immediately released.
Thirteen other workers who were also at the site were
accounted for, and there were no known fatalities, Johnson County Emergency
Coordinator Jack Snow said.
Laura Harlin, a resident of nearby Granbury, said she
heard a "huge rumbling" that initially sounded like thunder and then like a
tornado because it lasted so long.
"For about 10 minutes, it was so loud that it was like
there was an 18-wheeler rumbling in your driveway," she said.
At
least seven of the workers went to the hospital following the explosion. Gary
Marks, CEO of Glen Rose Medical Center, said two people were treated and
released, and four others were in stable condition. One patient was taken to
Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Fort Worth. Spokeswoman Whitney Jodry did
not have person's condition.
The gas line is owned by
Houston-based Enterprise Products Partners LP. Spokesman Rick Rainey said
Enterprise's control room immediately identified a break in the line. The
36-inch line was equipped with valves that automatically shut down gas to that
section of pipe, and the fire was out about two hours after the explosion.
The pipeline helps carry gas from West Texas across the
state to utilities, distribution companies and commercial users on the eastern
end of the state. Rainey said the company would work with customers to avoid any
disruption to their service from the fire.
The injured workers were digging for Waco-based Brazos
Electric Cooperative, Snow said. A message seeking comment from that company was
not immediately returned.
The
Texas natural
gas blast followed one in West Virginia earlier Monday. Seven workers were
burned when a drilling crew hit a pocket of methane gas, triggering an explosion
in a rural area about 55 miles southwest of Pittsburgh.
from msnbc.com