Fireball: Flames shoot into the air after a natural gas pipeline explosion in Texas, which killed one man and injured seven others
The wide area of land affected by the natural gas line explosion in Cleburn. The large line erupted on Monday after utility workers accidentally hit the line, officials said
One worker was killed and seven others injured when an underground gas pipeline exploded in rural Texas, sending a massive fireball into the air.
The pipeline exploded after it was accidentally ruptured by utility workers digging to build a new power line.
Authorities found the missing worker's body yesterday, several hours after the explosion at Cleburne, Johnson County, about 50 miles southwest of Dallas.
The worker had been driving a truck and drilling holes for utility poles when the line suddenly exploded, and other workers lost sight of him in the intense smoke, according to Roger Harmon, Johnson County's top elected official.
A medical helicopter is used to do an aerial search at the site of a gas pipeline explosion near Bono, Texas. Right, the burning line
A work site sits abandoned and partially burnt after a natural gas line exploded into a massive ball of flame in Johnson County
Flames from the natural gas line could be seen from miles around the Texas site
Authorities had initially hoped the man, whose name was not released, had left the scene on his own, like some of his colleagues who drove themselves to hospitals.
The worker's truck was later found upside down in the charred area, with its drilling component torn off and hurled 250 feet away.
At least seven of the 13 workers at the site were taken to hospital. Two had been released and four were in a stable condition.
The condition of the remaining workers was unknown.
Laura Harlin, a resident of nearby Granbury, said around the time of the blast she heard a 'huge rumbling' that initially sounded like thunder and then like a tornado because it lasted so long.
'For about 10 minutes, it was so loud that it was like there was an 18-wheeler rumbling in your driveway,' she said.
The explosion caused confusion among officials in its immediate aftermath, with one city official initially saying three people had been killed.
Heat from the blast forced firefighters to stay about a half-mile away until the gas flow was shut off, and they were unable to douse the flames.
A control room at Houston-based Enterprise Products Partners LP, which owns the gas line, immediately identified a break in the line near Cleburne, company spokesman Rick Rainey said.
The 36-inch line was equipped with valves that automatically shut down gas to that section of pipe, and the fire was out about two hours after the blast.
The pipeline helps carry gas from West Texas across the state to utilities, distribution companies and commercial users.
Mr Rainey said the company would work with customers to avoid any disruption to their service from the fire.
The injured workers were digging for a subcontractor hired by Waco-based Brazos Electric Cooperative.
The blast followed a similar on in West Virginia yesterday, which saw seven workers burned when a drilling crew hit a pocket of methane gas, triggering an explosion in a rural area about 55 miles southwest of Pittsburgh.
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