Natural gas pipeline explosion close to Louisiana community

An explosion in a natural gas pipeline occurred just outside of Enon in Washington Parish. The explosion occurred at 5.40am and led to flames and smoke being visible several miles away. Although no one was injured in the explosion, thousands of people were left without power.

The ruptured 3.1 billion cubic-feet-per-day pipeline belongs to Florida Gas Transmission and functions as the main pipeline for transporting natural gas so south Florida from Texas. The 30-inch pipeline ruptured along an 80-foot section, according to Nicholas Manale, a Louisiana state Police Trooper, causing the combustible gas to spark along the line. Around 55 people were evacuated from the area as a safety precaution whilst the fire was contained.

The size of the section of pipeline that ruptured meant that damage to the area has been reported as being quite substantial. The large heavily wooded area surrounding the blast was completely levelled, destroying almost 300-foot of trees and vegetation.

The 5,500 mile pipeline was shut down by Florida Gas Transmission at around 6.45am and gas was rerouted to customers via other pipelines. It was reported that the fire was still being put out after the pipeline had been shut down, as work was done to drain residual gas and pressure from the pipeline to prevent further explosions.

The explosion was the third to occur in Louisiana in a week and came on the heels of two explosions that occurred at two separate chemical plants in the Baton Rouge area. The earlier explosions at the chemical plants resulted in injuries and several deaths.

One of the previous explosions happened at a plant in Geismar, Louisiana, which, according to a report by Think Progress, had not been inspected by OSHA since 1993. The incident injured almost 100 people and killed two.

The second recent Louisiana explosion happened the next day at Donaldsonville. The incident has been attributed to a ruptured nitrogen vessel and caused the death of one individual and injured at least eight others.