California gas pipeline explosion, fire injure up to 15 people
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A construction crew accidentally ruptured a natural gas transmission line on Friday in Fresno, California, igniting an explosion and fire that injured up to 15 people, at least one of them critically, a fire department spokesman said. The 12-inch (30-cm) pipeline, belonging to Pacific Gas & Electric Corp, was struck by a backhoe near state Highway 99, unleashing a fireball that injured members of the construction team and a prison inmate crew in the vicinity, spokesman Pete Martinez said. He said the accident prompted closure of the highway in both directions, along with a nearby railroad line. (Reporting by Steve Gorman from Los Angeles; Additional reporting by Rory Carroll in San Francisco; Editing by Eric Beech)
