Abandoned cable led to mystery Rhode Island beach blast -officials
By John Larrabee
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (Reuters) - An explosion that injured a woman at a Rhode Island beach earlier this month was a likely the result of a build up of hydrogen gas from a forgotten power cable buried beneath the sand, state officials said on Friday.
The copper cable had originally been laid by the U.S. Coast Guard to power equipment, but had long since been abandoned, officials said, adding that there appeared to be no further danger to summer sunbathers.
"I would take my kids there," said Arthur Spivack, an oceanographer at the University Rhode Island, who helped conduct the review.
The July 11 beach explosion tossed Kathleen Danise, 60, of Waterbury, Connecticut, 10 feet into the air. She suffered two cracked ribs, a concussion, bruises and scratches and was briefly hospitalized.
Police immediately evacuated the beach, but crowds were allowed to return the next day.
A team including state police, the state fire marshal's office, the state Department of Environmental Management, and university oceanographers probed the site for almost two weeks, digging in the sand and testing samples.
(Editing by Scott Malone and Sandra Maler)
