Investigators from several federal agencies are on the ground in Coolidge, Arizona, working to determine what caused a pipeline owned by Houston, Texas-based Kinder Morgan to rupture and explode early Sunday morning, tragically killing two people and severely burning another.
Arizona Pipeline Explosion Ignited Home 120-Feet Away
The August 15th explosion occurred around 5:45 a.m. along a 30-inch line operated by Kinder Morgan subsidiary El Paso Natural Gas. Flames from the massive fire were able to ignite a farmhouse located at the intersection of Vail and Randolph roads, some 120-feet away from the site of the rupture.
“The heat is what caught the house on fire. I don’t believe there was direct contact with the flames. It was just the intense heat,” Mark Tercero of the Coolidge Police Department told ABC15. “The radiation of that heat just went around and just charred everything.”
Father and Teenage Daughter Killed, Mother Fighting for Her Life
Two people inside the home were later found dead. They have since been identified as a man in his 60s. and his 14-year-old daughter, both of whom were reported missing shortly after the blast.
The girl’s mother escaped the inferno but sustained burns to 50% of her body. The woman was rushed by helicopter to Maricopa Medical Center, where she is listed in critical condition and continues to fight for her life.
In February, the same family made news after the husband and wife fought off two inmates who had escaped from Florence Prison the previous month. The family was recently approved for a U-Visa, a special program for victims of certain crimes who have suffered mental or physical abuse and are helpful to law enforcement or government officials in the investigation or prosecution of criminal activities.
Age May Have Contributed to Kinder Morgan Pipeline Explosion
It’s still not known what caused the Kinder Morgan pipeline to rupture, but it’s possible that age was a factor.
“What this shows is, this was definitely a brittle pipeline rupture,” Dan Deaver, a pipeline safety expert, told NBC 12-News after viewing footage provided by the Coolidge Police Department.
“This is one of the largest rupture cavities I’ve ever seen,” he continued.
Deaver noted that most pipelines in the United States haven’t been replaced since their initial installation, sometimes over 50 years ago.
The National Transportation Safety Board is leading the investigation into Sunday’s fatal explosion with assistance from the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the U.S. Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, and the Arizona Corporate Commission. However, it could take investigators up to two years to determine a probable cause.
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