Dozens of gas explosions rocked Boston's suburbs, killing at least 12 wounded

ANDOVER, Mass. (Reuters) – Tens of explosions, apparently triggered by a pipeline rupture, rocked Thursday three communities near Boston, killing at least one person, injuring 12 and evacuating hundreds of people.

Explosions have demolished or engulfed dozens of homes and buildings as firefighters in fifty departments burst out for hours from one fire to another and fire crews were quick to stop gas and electricity.

The police rolled the streets with bull's horns to tell people to leave their homes immediately.

Fire investigators suspected of "overpressurizing a gas line" owned by Columbia Gas, of Massachusetts, have caused a series of explosions and fires, said Andover Fire Chief Michael Mansfield at the time. 'a press conference.

Columbia Gas, a unit of utility giant NiSource Inc (NI.N) announced Thursday that it would redevelop gas lines in neighborhoods across the state, including the area where the explosions occurred. However, it was not immediately clear if work was going on in these communities.

"Columbia Gas is investigating what has happened to its system today," said NiSource spokesman Ken Stammen.

The United States Department of Transportation's Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) said it was sending a team to support the state's response efforts.

Former head of the agency, Brigham McCown, called the series gas explosions "unprecedented, at least recent memory".

"I can not think of a series of natural gas-related incidents like this," McCown, who led PHMSA under President George W. Bush, told Reuters. "We had similar problems on a much smaller scale."

He added that the National Transportation Safety Board also sent a team led by its chairman, Robert Sumwalt, to investigate the disaster.

Live television footage shows firefighters battling the flames in the former cities of Lawrence, Andover and North Andover, about 40 kilometers north of the Massachusetts capital.

The streets were darkened after dark and the current was cut off as a precaution.

'MONITORING EVENT'

Lawrence General Hospital said on its Facebook page that it was treating 13 people for injuries ranging from smoke inhalation to trauma caused by explosions. One of these patients, who was in critical condition, was rushed to Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. Officials told Reuters that the patient died later.

At least three people, including a firefighter, were injured in Andover, the city said in a statement, but it was not clear that these people were among the patients treated at Lawrence, some of whom were subsequently released.

"It was an overwhelming event," Mansfield told reporters, saying that firefighters responding to the fires set a single house on fire to find another house on fire at the end of their work. "This event is not over tonight. This event will probably continue. "

The Massachusetts state police said that in total, 70 fires, explosions or gas odor investigations had been reported. Some 50 fire departments responded to the emergency, said John McArdle, Fire Chief of Plaistow, New Hampshire, who sent a tower ladder and engine crew to the scene.

North Andover resident Laurie Williams, 55, said she had come home from work to find police and fire-fighting vehicles blocking the streets near her home and she learned that three nearby buildings were in operation. fire.

"It was very scary," Williams told Reuters by phone, claiming she could see smoke on the horizon. "My first thought was that it's a gas explosion."

State police urged residents served by Columbia Gas to evacuate their homes. Lawrence Mayor Dan Rivera said residents in the south of the city had been asked to leave their homes, whether they were Columbia Gas customers or not, due to planned power cuts.

In recent years, gas distribution services have been under scrutiny due to an aging pipeline system that critics say are not being properly inspected and maintained, posing a growing risk to public safety.

Friday's blazes came six years after Columbia Gas was charged with a gas explosion in Springfield, Mass., Which injured 17 people and caused property damage estimated at $ 1.3 million.

That happened when a Columbia Gas technician, called to investigate a smell of gas in a nightclub, accidentally broke a line, said the utility department in a report.