SAN FRANCISCO, Nov. 3 (UPI) -- More than 50 residents affected by a September gas pipeline explosion in San Bruno, Calif., sued the company that operated the gas line, an attorney said.
Residents in a San Bruno neighborhood filed a lawsuit against Pacific Gas and Electric Co. for not taking "corrective and life-saving action" in response to complaints of alleged signs of a gas leak before the Sept. 9 explosion, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
A natural gas pipeline burst Sept. 9, sparking a massive fireball that ripped through a San Bruno, Calif., neighborhood. The explosion killed eight people and destroyed 37 homes.
The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board in a preliminary report found an electrical failure at a PG&E facility caused a pressure surge in the pipeline just before the San Bruno explosion.
Jerry Nastari, an attorney for the plaintiffs, said PG&E doesn't understand the pain suffered by San Bruno residents.
"We are here to make sure PG&E faces the reality of these horrors," he said.
The company said it examined close to 16 miles of transmission pipeline in San Bruno and found no integrity issues that required immediate repair.
Five earlier lawsuits filed against the company call for unspecified damages and call on PG&E to remove the idled pipeline from the San Bruno neighborhood.
