MILFORD — Residents and students were evacuated in an area around a gas pipeline explosion Thursday morning south of Milford in Ellis County.
The explosion occurred at a drilling site near FM 308. Officials said the crew working on the rig was able to escape and there were no injuries.
According to Milford volunteer fire Chief Mark Jackson, the explosion happened when a 10-inch pipe was broken. The drilling rig was completely engulfed in flames and large plumes of thick black smoke filled the sky. Several vehicles at the site were destroyed in the blaze.
The line was closed off and crews waited for the fire to burn itself out.
Jackson said about 200 students in the Milford Independent School District were evacuated to the gym of Italy High School, called “The Dome.”
Officials have closed off numerous roads as they wait for the fire to burn out:
- FM 308 from SH 22 in Hill County to US 77 in Ellis County
- Interstate 35 exit ramps into Milford
- US 77 at FM 308
Milford is located about 14 miles northeast of Hillsboro.The area of the explosion is a rural area.
The Red Cross also created a shelter at Italy High School for residents forced to evacuate.
They put these transmission lines in the ground and never do any inspections after. They are all accidents waiting to happen. What happens when the ones in towns start blowing up?
Gas or Oil Pipelines don’t have to explode to cause major problems and evacuations. Several Tar Sands pipeliines are now crossing the ;U.S. There have been several ruptures as in Michigan, Missouri and Arkansas. Waterways have been severely polluted, towns evacuated and homes have become uninhabitable. A major 70 year old pipeline repurposed to carry diluted Tar Sands crosses through downtown Corsicana, Tx. Come to our meeting in Fairfield, Tx on November 21, 2013 at 7:00 p.m. in the; Veterans of Foreign Wars Hall located on F.M. 488 just off Hwy 84 east of town. First Responders should attend to find out about the hazards of the Tar Sands diluted with Benezene, Toluene and Zylene, all toxic substances.