A 12-year-old girl died tragically on Friday, after a natural gas explosion destroyed her home and injured four other members of her family.
The February 23rd explosion occurred around 6:30 a.m. at a home in the 3500 block of Espanola Drive.
Responders arriving at the scene found the home destroyed, but no fire.
Five injured people were discovered in the front yard, including 12-year-old Linda Rogers, who was unconscious.
All were taken to Parkland Hospital, where the young girl was pronounced dead. The others were later released.
Explosion Was the Neighborhood’s Third Natural Gas Incident in Recent Days
Friday’s tragedy marked the neighborhood’s third natural gas-related incident in as many days.
One person was hospitalized on Wednesday, in connection with a house fire on nearby Durango Drive that may have been fueled by natural gas.
Another fire ignited on Thursday, when a stove flared up as a man was cooking.
“There’s a huge gas leak that’s been going on for days, and Atmos Energy can’t seem to fix it,” neighbor David McCoy told the local CBS News affiliate.
Atmos has indicated that it will be replacing 2 1/2 miles of pipeline throughout the area, including natural gas mains and service lines, over the next few days.
National Transportation Safety Board Leading Investigation
A 3-person team from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is now investigating Friday’s deadly explosion.
The NTSB has jurisdiction over the incident because it involved an apparent pipeline accident.
“The process has not started yet. Right now, I just looked at the scene. I looked at all three homes that has suffered damage recently,” investigator Ravi Chhatre said during a Sunday press conference. “The main focus of course is the fatality.”
Neighborhood Evacuations Continue
Friday’s explosion prompted a mandatory evacuation that affected around 300 residents and about 700 students at nearby Foster Elementary School.
While that evacuation order was lifted on Saturday, more than 90 residents of a nearby apartment complex were forced to leave their homes on Sunday because of another natural gas leak.
Atmos Energy discovered the leak around 2:30 p.m. at 3410 Hidalgo Drive, less than ½ mile from the site of Friday’s deadly explosion. While gas service to the location has been isolated, Atmos said it has no timeline for when repairs will be completed.
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