Pipeline Explosion in Corpus Christi Leaves 2 Dead and 2 Missing

Agencies offered conflicting accounts, however, about the explosion.

The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality said on Friday that a barge struck a propane pipeline. The Port of Corpus Christi said it was a natural gas pipeline, the television station KSAT reported.

The U.S. Coast Guard and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the cause of the explosion, Sean Strawbridge, the chief executive of the Port of Corpus Christi, said on Saturday afternoon.

“A determination of the cause will be forthcoming,” Mr. Strawbridge said at a news conference. “But until a full investigation is complete, any speculation of the cause is premature.”

The Port of Corpus Christi, which is on the western Gulf of Mexico, has a 47-foot-deep channel. Mr. Strawbridge said that $200 million worth of goods move through the port on an uninterrupted day.

The fire on the ship reignited on Friday night and was extinguished around 10 p.m. Shortly after, the vessel sank. Captain Gaynor said officials were devising a plan to salvage the ship.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/22/us/pipeline-exposion-corpus-christi.html