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No leaks found in gas line before explosion, California utility says

Pacific Gas & Electric said inspections on April 1 and April 16, one day before the blast, did not reveal any leaks.

By Doug G. Ware

FRESNO, Calif., April 19 (UPI) -- A natural gas pipeline that suddenly exploded at a sheriff's office gun range in central California -- sending a tower of flames into the air and nearly a dozen people to the hospital -- did not show any signs of prior leakage, utility officials said.

The pipeline exploded Friday afternoon as a tractor worker was building a dirt wall, which guards bullets from leaving the gun range. Officials said 11 people were injured, four critically.

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Sunday, Pacific Gas & Electric said two recent surveys inspected the pipeline for leaks but found none, Sacramento's KCRA-TV reported. PG&E performed a ground inspection April 1 and an aerial inspection April 16 -- one day before the explosion.

The utility did say, however, that it detected a loss of pressure in the pipeline seven minutes before the blast was reported -- and that it appears a vehicle damaged the 12-inch pipeline.

Officials believe the worker operating the tractor accidentally severed the gas line.

The California Public Utilities Commission and federal Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration are leading the investigation into the explosion, which also shut down a nearby highway and rail service.

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PG&E said about 40 inches of earth covered the pipeline involved in the blast, which is sufficient according to the utility's standards and federal safety code, KCRA-TV's report said. The utility also said it hadn't received any advance notice of digging in that area.

There were two posted signs in the area marking the gas line. However, the tractor operator may not have seen either of them, as they were both about 100 feet away from where he was digging.

RELATED Gas line explosion injures 15 in Fresno, Calif.

The worker was among the four critically injured by the explosion. Eight prison inmates, who were also working in the area, were hurt -- along with two deputies of the Fresno County Sheriff's Office. Both deputies and two inmates have since been released from the hospital, officials said.

A Fresno defense attorney told KGPE-TV that lawsuits may result from the explosion.

"It might be a little bit of fault on PG&E, and a fault on the part of the Sheriff's Department," attorney David Mugridge said. "That's the kind of thing that's gonna have to be fleshed out now and investigated. People are gonna have to be asked questions."

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Mugridge said he expects at least some of the injured inmates will file lawsuits against both the Fresno County Sheriff's Office and PG&E.

"Those inmates, as history has shown, can have a case that they can file for personal injury against the persons that are involved," he said.

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