Major Gas Pipeline Explosion Injures At Least 11 People in California

Business Insider reported that a large gas pipeline explosion in California on Friday has left 11 people injured. A county equipment operator was working with a jail inmate crew to expand the road on the Fresno County Sheriff’s office gun range at the time of the accident, although the cause of the explosion is still uncertain.

As quoted in the market news:

It was not clear what caused the explosion at the Fresno County Sheriff’s gun range that brought traffic in the area to a halt. But authorities say it occurred while a county equipment operator was working with a jail inmate crew to expand a road on the range alongside heavily traveled Highway 99.

The flames shot well over 100 feet into the air, witnesses said.

Traffic heading north and south on Highway 99 in Fresno was halted by the explosion about 2:30 p.m. as flames towered over the roadway, the California Highway Patrol reported. The highway was reopened three hours later, the CHP said.

The explosion on a Pacific Gas & Electric Co. (NYSEMKT:PCG-A) pipe carrying natural gas happened at the Fresno County Sheriff’s office gun range, while an equipment operator and some county jail inmates were expanding a road, according to Fresno County Sheriff Margaret Mims.

Click here to read the full Business Insider report.