Oil, LNG Pipeline Blast Prompts Evacuation in Khuzestan Village

Salehabad village in Omidiyeh in southwestern Khuzestan Province was evacuated Monday after a fire broke out at a oil pipeline near the village, the governor said.
The accident occurred when workers were repairing a section of the Ahvaz-Omidiyeh pipeline.
“The fire started when a wheel loader hit a pipeline. Following a leakage there was an explosion in the area in about 45 minutes. Subsequently, there was a blast at the liquefied natural gas pipeline nearby,” Mehr News Agency quoted Mehran Rafiee as saying.
The explosion site was in the vicinity of Salehabad village. “Families in the area were immediately moved to another village to prevent casualties.
“Thanks to timely contingency measures the fire was controlled to a great extent. But due to the large amount of oil and LNG spill it took almost a day to totally put out the fire. The fire at both pipelines has been contained.”
The fires, however, destroyed houses in the village.
Omidiyeh is 125 km southeast of Ahvaz, capital of the oil-rich province.