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2 killed in gas well explosion in US

(Agencies)
Updated: 2010-07-24 04:22

INDIANOLA, Pennsylvania - A natural gas well where welders were believed to be working exploded Friday, killing two people and sparking a fire that spewed black smoke for hours.

In this frame grab image provided by video from WPXI-TV, a fire rustling from a natural gas well explosion burns in Indianola, Pa., northeast of Pittsburgh on Friday, July 23, 2010. [Agencies]

The blast happened in a remote, wooded area of Indiana Township, northeast of Pittsburgh, police said. Firefighters doused the fire with foam, and part of the blaze was still burning about three hours after the explosion.

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The cause wasn't yet known, but state officials believe "people were welding at the site and there was an explosion and the well caught fire," said Helen Humphries, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Environmental Protection.

"Why they were welding or what caused the explosion, I don't know yet," she said.

The well, dubbed Murray Heirs No 6, is a shallow well, about 3,500 feet (1,066 meters) deep, and was drilled in May 2008, Humphries said. It was considered to be a producing well, she said.

The department won't be able to determine the environmental impact until after the fire is extinguished, Humphries said.

The well is owned by Huntley & Huntley, a company that says it operates more than 350 gas wells in and around Pittsburgh and is also active in Oklahoma. The company confirmed its workers had arrived at the well but a spokeswoman said she had no further information.