12:noon update (AP) A 30-inch natural gas pipeline has ruptured in a rural area in western Missouri causing an explosion and fire that could be seen for several miles. No injuries were reported, authorities said Friday.
The Pettis County Sheriff’s Department said the pipeline, owned by Panhandle Eastern Pipeline Co., ruptured shortly before midnight Thursday outside Hughesville, about 75 miles east of Kansas City. The rupture and explosion set fire to several hog barns, farm outbuildings, equipment and hay bales, Pettis County Sheriff’s Deputy Brian Egbert said.
The sheriff’s department said fewer than a dozen residents within three miles of the explosion were evacuated but were allowed back into their homes before dawn. Egbert said the pipeline has been shut down and that crews are working Friday to repair the line.
Pettis County Sheriff Kevin Bond said the explosion could be seen 12 miles away.
“I was just about to go to bed when I heard a boom. It didn’t sound right so I stepped outside and could see the glow from the fire,” Bond said. “There was a big fireball.” He said the fire at the pipeline burned itself out about two and half hours later after company representatives shut the pipeline down.
Crews from several area fire departments responded to the scene.
Panhandle Energy spokeswoman Vicki Anderson Granado also said in a statement no injuries were reported and the company has rerouted gas from the area so deliveries wouldn’t be affected.
“We are working with the local emergency responders to make sure the needs of any of those who were impacted are taken care of,” the statement said.
Granado said it was unclear how long the investigation into what caused the rupture would take.
“This is a thorough process and as you know takes time,” Granado said in an email.
The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, a division of the U.S. Department of Transportation, said it’s working with state and local officials to gather more information about the rupture.
Another Panhandle Eastern pipeline ruptured in August 2008 in Cooper County, causing about $1 million in damages, according to a PHMSA report.
5 a.m. A natural gas pipeline exploded in Houstonia, Missouri in Pettis County just after midnight. The fireball could reportedly be seen over 30 miles away. Officials with the Panhandle Eastern Pipeline Company say that the fire is now out and nobody was injured. Some families in the area were evacuated as a precaution. An investigation on what caused the blast is underway.