Supposedly the truck that was digging the posthole when it struck the pipe. The operator of that truck was the one who was reported to be missing.
Posted on 06/07/2010 7:16:27 PM PDT by TXnMA
A large natural gas line in north Texas erupted Monday after utility workers accidentally hit the line, sending a massive fireball into the air and leaving one worker missing hours after the blast, officials said.
Johnson County Emergency Coordinator Jack Snow said searchers were scouring the charred area around the damaged line looking for the missing person. Thirteen other workers who were also at the site were accounted for, and there were no known fatalities, he said.
The missing worker had just gotten down from a machine drilling utility pole holes when the line suddenly exploded. Other workers lost sight of him in the intense smoke, said Roger Harmon, Johnson County's top elected official. Several workers drove themselves to the hospital before emergency crews arrived, so it's possible that the missing man left the scene on his own, Harmon said.
(Excerpt) Read more at kansascity.com ...
As best I can tell, the explosion was in open coun try neat US 67, between Cleburne and Glem Rose, to the west.
The pipeline was a 36-incher, and the entire area is full of newly-drilled gas wells.
No update on the missing worker.
Will work on getting photos and geolocation...
Is this the same explosion as discussed here in this thread http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2529640/posts earlier?
Glencoe - 36” - gas line? That story reported 3 dead.
Which report is mot accurate?
The very same. And, yes indeed, it certainly is.
Latest reports have zero deaths.
Lord have mercy...
Supposedly the truck that was digging the posthole when it struck the pipe. The operator of that truck was the one who was reported to be missing.
Reportedly, only one of the six injured workers remains in the hospital in Glen Rose, and there is no further info on the individual who was airlifted to Haris Hospital in Fort Worth.
FYI & FWIW, by comparing aerial photos of the scene with Google Maps satellite view, I have located the exact site of the blast, if anyone is interested... Fortunately, it was in sparsely settled country, and the only people in the area were the workmen.
Oh my goodness, how horrible. Thank you for the update.
Thanks for the update. Prayers up for all involved.
So this would be a work-relayed accident, caused by human error, as opposed to some problem with the pipe or the equipment itself.
No chance of sabotage, unless the operator intended to kill himself.
If you could send me the google link, yes, I’d love to see it. Living in NJ - or anywhere on the East Coast - it’s hard to imagine the vastness of that part of the West. It wasn’t until flying over it that I realized how uninhabited it was (and how many drilling operations there were.)
Flying over the border also made it plain just how many maquilladoras there were, pushing right up next to the US - Mexico border - and just how filthy and unregulated they were. You can see why Mexican residents would do almost anything to get out of that hellhole, if only for the sake of their children’s health.
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