NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The Coast Guard is investigating a natural gas pipeline explosion that started a towering blaze in a water body southeast of New Orleans.
The line exploded shortly before 4 p.m. Thursday in Lake Lery and the fire was still burning early Friday afternoon, though it didn't rise as high, Coast Guard spokesperson Riley Perkofski said.
Preliminary information indicates a barge broke loose from its mooring and hit the pipeline, according to the federal Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration.
“The pipeline has been shut down and the affected section of pipe has been isolated. Remaining gas will be allowed to burn off,” said a statement from the agency, part of the Department of Transportation.
Nobody was hurt by the rupture and fire, the Coast Guard said in a news release Thursday night. There was a silver sheen Friday on the water between St. Bernard and Plaquemines parishes, Perkofski said in an email.
The pipeline is owned by Third Coast High Point Gas Transmission, Perkofski wrote. Third Coast, which is based in Houston, did not immediately return a call for comment.
