A massive explosion of a gas pipeline in Shelby County, Alabama —
near the site where the same pipeline leaked some 336,000 gallons of
gasoline just last month — evidences the exact reason activists and
Native American water protectors oppose the construction of the Dakota
Access Pipeline over 1,400 miles to the northwest.
One person was
killed
and at least five people were injured in the blast — tentatively
described as an accident — as Colonial Pipeline shut down operations
black smoke billowed, sending millions into a panic over the abrupt and
unexpected coming gas shortage.
“Our deepest condolences go out tonight to the family and friends of
the person who was lost today, and our thoughts and prayers are with
those who were injured,” Colonial said in a statement,
reported NBC News.
Cited by the
Chicago Tribune, Alabama Governor Robert Bentley
said
the explosion occurred roughly a mile west of last month’s rupture,
adding of the likely crippling shortage of fuel, “We’ll just hope and
pray for the best.”
“It appears to have been an accident, and they’re allowing fuel to burn,” Bentley
told WBRC. “It’s about one mile west of where the repair took place on the Colonial Pipeline just recently.”
Refined gas poured from the pipeline as workers rushed to construct a
75-foot-long ‘earthen dam’ to contain the flaming spill, where fuel
will then be allowed to burn itself out. Dry tinder from an ongoing
drought in the area quickly ignited two wildfires after the explosion —
which then charred 31 acres — and area residents were forced to evacuate
without any indication when they would be permitted to return.
