Gas well explosion injures 12 in Alberta

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EDMONTON, Alberta, March 8 (UPI) -- Canadian energy officials were investigating a natural explosion Tuesday that injured 12 workers in central Alberta a day earlier.

The blast occurred midday at a Husky Energy site near the town of Edson, some 140 miles west of Edmonton, the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. reported.

The injured sustained trauma and burn injuries, but none were life-threatening, officials told Global TV.

A spokesman from the provincial Energy Resources Conservation Board said there were no environmental hazards created by the explosion that involved so-called sour gas.

An official with a subcontracting firm working at the site told the CBC employees were preparing to start a process of fracturing rocks to access the gas deposits when the blast happened.

The incident was the third energy-related accident in the region in a week, Global TV said. A sour gas fire was reported at another site Friday and a woman was killed in an industrial accident at an oil processing plant Saturday, the report said.