kepdawg
03-12-2007, 03:41 PM
Explosion rocks Parker County digging site 3:34 PM CST
03:34 PM CDT on Monday, March 12, 2007
From Staff and Wire Reports
WEATHERFORD - Parker County authorities were working Monday to locate several workers who were present when a gas line under construction exploded, sending a large plume of smoke into the sky.
Parker County Sheriff Larry Fowler says the accident happened as some workers were laying a pipeline in a rural area west of FM 730 near Lake Weatherford.
"A backhoe operator struck another pipeline and ruptured it, and it ignited," Sheriff Fowler said.
Fowler said no information on who may have been at the scene was available.
Emergency crews rushed to the scene after the blast, which burned nearly a dozen trucks. Several pieces of construction equipment, including a backhoe and forklift, were also on fire at the site.
First responders to the scene were having a difficult time reaching the scene due to high-voltage transmission lines that were knocked down as a result of the explosion.
"(The fire) melted the power lines, and they dropped to the ground," the sheriff said.
The area is about 30 miles west of Fort Worth. Sheriff Fowler said roads in the area were closed to traffic as a precaution.
"We're not letting anyone get anywhere close to it," he said.
03:34 PM CDT on Monday, March 12, 2007
From Staff and Wire Reports
WEATHERFORD - Parker County authorities were working Monday to locate several workers who were present when a gas line under construction exploded, sending a large plume of smoke into the sky.
Parker County Sheriff Larry Fowler says the accident happened as some workers were laying a pipeline in a rural area west of FM 730 near Lake Weatherford.
"A backhoe operator struck another pipeline and ruptured it, and it ignited," Sheriff Fowler said.
Fowler said no information on who may have been at the scene was available.
Emergency crews rushed to the scene after the blast, which burned nearly a dozen trucks. Several pieces of construction equipment, including a backhoe and forklift, were also on fire at the site.
First responders to the scene were having a difficult time reaching the scene due to high-voltage transmission lines that were knocked down as a result of the explosion.
"(The fire) melted the power lines, and they dropped to the ground," the sheriff said.
The area is about 30 miles west of Fort Worth. Sheriff Fowler said roads in the area were closed to traffic as a precaution.
"We're not letting anyone get anywhere close to it," he said.