A 20-inch Natural Gas Pipeline Co. of America LLC natural gas pipeline exploded in a farming accident that killed two and injured another two in Lee County, Ill., a local Illinois publication reported Dec. 5.
The victims were laying field tile in the morning of Dec. 5 when one of their tractors lost traction and hit the transmission pipeline, causing the explosion upon impact, SaukValley.com reported. Representatives from Kinder Morgan Inc., NGPL's parent company, shut down the pipeline and the fire was out by early afternoon on the same day.
Kinder Morgan expects to start repairing the damage after getting the necessary approval from the National Transportation Safety Board, according to a company representative. The state's fire marshal's office, police department and sheriff's department are investigating the incident, the report said.
NGPL operates an interstate pipeline system composed of about 9,200 miles of pipeline and 288 Bcf of working gas storage, delivering gas to the Chicago market.
