WV Worker Dead after Injuries in Gas Explosion

Tyler County Gas Fire

WV Worker Dead after Injuries in Gas Explosion and Fire

Tyler County, WV – WTRF.com, April 14, 2013

A worker has died from injuries suffered in an accident at a natural gas operation in Tyler County. The Tyler County Sheriff’s Office said Sunday that 56-year-old Bruce Phipps of Marietta, Ohio, died late Friday night.

Two other workers were injured in Thursday’s accident at a Eureka Hunter Pipeline operation near Wick. The sheriff’s office says it doesn’t have any information on them.

Authorities have said the incident was an explosion at a compressor station. But Eureka’s parent, Magnum Hunter Resources, says it was a flash fire at a “pig receiving station.” Pigs are devices used to clean out or to inspect pipelines.

Magnum says initial reports indicate that natural gas liquids ignited in tanks during “pigging” operations and fueled the fire. Magnum says the workers were employed by contractors.

WTRF.com UPDATE:

Authorities are investigating the cause of an explosion at a gas well compression site in Tyler County Thursday night after four people suffered injuries.

According to the Tyler County Sheriff’s Office, at about 7 p.m., Tyler County 911 received a call from a Eureka Hunter employee of an explosion with storage tanks on fire and at least two people injured at the Twin Hickories Road compression station near Wick, W.Va.

Fire and emergency responders were sent to the scene along with the Tyler County Sheriff Deputies. According to a press release, fire units from Shirley, Alma, Middlebourne, Sistersville as well as Saint Mary’s from Pleasants County and Paden City from Wetzel County responded.

According to the release, three people were flown by helicopter to West Penn Burn Center in Pittsburgh. A fourth person was taken to Sistersville General Hospital. The condition of the victims is unknown. The WTRF video is available here.

ORIGINAL STORY

Fire departments in Tyler County are responding to a gas well fire Thursday night.

According to the Tyler County Emergency Management Association, the explosion happened at a compression station in Tyler County. They did not confirm the exact location. The EMA is reporting three people were injured.

St. Mary’s, Paden City and numerous fire departments are at the scene, according to the EMA. The EMA is also responding to the scene to provide drinking water to firefighters.

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Tagged as: drilling, explosion, fire, fracking, gas pipeline, leak, marcellus shale, natural gas, pig station, worker dead