• Font Size    
E-mail

Close Window E-mail This Page

Pueblo Explosion Caused By Natural Gas Buildup

Required fields are marked with an asterisk(*)

The information you provide will be used only to send the requested e-mail and will not be used to send any other e-mail communications. Read more in our Privacy Policy

Send E-mail

   Print     Share +
Nov 21, 2008 6:44 am US/Mountain

Pueblo Explosion Caused By Natural Gas Buildup

Investigators Release Video, 911 Calls From Blast

Reporting
Jodi Brooks
PUEBLO, Colo. (AP/CBS4) ― Investigators have determined that a natural gas leak from a pipeline under the street led to a deadly explosion that leveled a restaurant and a neighboring store. They released video and 911 calls Thursday from the blast last week.

The video showed a man walking in front of the building as the restaurant exploded. He survived.

Cameras also caught images of people running to the blast scene to help.

"I'm calling for an explosion at the Branch Inn on Union and C Streets," said one caller.

"Yeah, we're getting everyone going. You know ... how many?" a dispatcher asked.

"There's people, there's people inside and the whole building has collapsed," a caller responded.

"At the Branch, really?" a dispatcher said.

"At the Branch Inn, the whole restaurant has collapsed and there's people in there," the caller said.

Pueblo fire department spokesman Woody Percival says the gas "took the path of least resistance" and passed through the soil, building up in the Branch Inn's basement.

The ATF said its investigation is over. Pueblo fire still wants to know what caused the leak under the street.

Restaurant staff smelled an odor but assumed it was sewer gas. Percival said Thursday the chemical additive that gives natural gas a rotten egg smell was likely filtered or altered, making the odor unrecognizable when it got to the basement and ignited.

Ashley R. Johnson, 22, was killed and seven people were injured in the Nov. 13 blast. A Classic Boutique was also destroyed.

(© 2009 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

Weird News

You need the latest Flash player to view video content.
Click here to download.

Click here to bypass this detection if you already have the latest Flash Player.

Local News

Top News Stories

© MMIX, CBS Television Stations Inc. All Rights Reserved.