Washington: A construction worker died and
eight others were injured when a punctured natural gas
pipeline exploded in Texas, officials said.
Cleburne City Manager Chester Nolen initially said that
the blast had killed three people and left 10 missing near
Cleburne, some 50 miles (80 kilometers) southwest of Dallas,
Texas yesterday.
A crew building power lines struck the pipeline,
unleashing an explosion and a huge fireball that shot hundreds
of feet (dozens of metres) into the sky, according to
officials.
The fire raged for hours, fueling a massive plume of
smoke before it was finally extinguished.
"We do know it started when they were drilling a hole for
a large electrical pole, one of the big metal ones, and they
struck a natural gas pipeline and that triggered the
explosion," Johnson County Emergency Management Coordinator
Jack Snow told in confirming the final count.
Emergency crews found the body of a subcontractor who had
been missing after the blast. The explosion threw his body
about 200 yards (meters) from the site, according to Snow.
Eight workers were transported to hospital, most with
minor burn injuries.
PTI
First Published: Tuesday, June 08, 2010, 15:50