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Watch: Massive pipeline explosion in Oklahoma sparks huge plume of smoke, no injuries reported
An explosion took place on a natural gas pipeline operated by DCP Midstream near the Texas-Oklahoma border on Tuesday night.
An explosion took place on a natural gas pipeline operated by DCP Midstream near the Texas-Oklahoma border on Tuesday night, sending the flames over 500 feet into the air, local media reported.
"Flames are shooting 500-feet into the air. Crews are staged a 'safe distance' away until the gas can be turned off," Reuters reported, citing the Booker fire department.
Multiple agencies reacted to the incident, and technicians were stationed a "safe distance" away until the gas could be shut off, the agency said.
The videos of the explosion show flames soaring far into the sky and torching what seem to be nearby electrical cables.
Are there any health threats to neighboring residences?
According to local television station KVII, the fire broke out near a road intersection about a mile from the state line in Beaver County, Oklahoma, between Darrouzett and Logan. The incident happened around 9:15 p.m. local time on Tuesday.
No injuries have been reported so far and the cause of the explosion has not been announced yet.
"There have been no injuries associated with the incident and no health threats to neighboring residences," a spokesperson for Phillips 66 told Newsweek. "Phillips 66 has shut in the affected section of pipeline and has made the appropriate regulatory notifications."
According to a Phillips 66 representative, the rupture's source is still unknown, and the company's "first priority in responding to this incident is ensuring the safety and health of its workers, emergency responders, and the surrounding community."
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‘We are 36 miles away from the fire…’: locals react
Meanwhile, locals reacted to the Elmwood Fire Department's social media post and confirmed that they could see the massive blaze from miles away.
"Crews from several departments are staged at a safe distance until the gas can be turned off," Booker Fire Department said in one of the videos. “...The flames are estimated to reach over 500 feet high.”
"We are 36 miles away from the fire and we can see it," one person wrote on Facebook, while another said, “That looks like a tornado fire”.
Several U.S. states have witnessed anumber of gas pipeline explosions in recent years. A gas line near Strasburg, western Virginia, exploded along I-81 last year in July.Before the fire was suppressed, the explosion caused a brief shutdown of the highway and the pipeline.
