A massive explosion on 27/06/2014 Friday on a state-owned
gas pipeline running through the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh killed
at least 16 people and gutted scores of homes, a state minister said.
“At least 16 people are dead. We have recovered 13 bodies
so far,” state home minister N. Chinna Rajappa told AFP after the blast near a
refinery in the East Godavari district.
At least 15 people were hospitalized with injuries from
the explosion, which occurred around 06:30 am (0100 GMT), the company said,
while the cause of the blast was not yet known.
Television pictures showed flames at least 10m high
leaping into the dawn sky, scorching trees in a surrounding coconut grove in
the coastal area where many live in flimsy huts.
The fire on the 18-inch pipeline owned by the Gas
Authority of India Limited (GAIL) was extinguished by mid-morning and the gas
had been cut off, a senior administrative officer told AFP by telephone from
the scene.
Read more: Gas pipeline blast in India