All Workers Accounted For In Texas Gas Line Accident

Monday, March 12th 2007, 4:35 pm

By: News On 6

WEATHERFORD, Texas (AP) -- A gas line exploded Monday, sending flames hundreds of feet in the air as some workers were laying a pipeline. Several nearby vehicles were burned but no one was hurt.

About 15 workers were in the area when a backhoe hit the gas line, said Bob Hopkins, a spokesman for the fire department in Weatherford, about 30 miles west of Fort Worth.

"When they tapped into this line, it began spewing and they began running," Hopkins said.

A spokesman for ConocoPhillips said that at about 2 p.m. a third-party contractor working in the area hit an 8-inch line the company uses to carry propylene, a type of natural gas liquid used to produce plastics. He said that ConocoPhillips has cut off the supply to the line.

Parker County Sheriff Larry Fowler said the accident happened as some workers were laying a pipeline in the rural area near Lake Weatherford.

Hopkins said the area where the fire is burning is in the middle of the Barnett Shale, a large natural gas field.

At least half a dozen vehicles were burned and several pieces of heavy equipment were in flames or had been scorched. Some power lines were also destroyed in the fire, but electricity was later restored, Hopkins said.