Accidents


PG&E wins restraining order against company involved in pipeline explosion

In the fourth incident cited by PG&E as cause for a restraining order, the utility says Big N Deep drove heavy digging machinery over a gas pipeline near

Henry A. Barrios / The Californian

Gas line explosion highlights lack of coordination between pipeline owners and excavation contractors

This month’s fatal pipeline rupture near Bakersfield highlights a challenge that has vexed state, federal and private-sector officials in recent years: how to improve coordination between natural gas utilities and excavation contractors to better protect public s


One dead and three injured in PG&E natural gas line explosion southwest of Bakersfield

A third party, more than likely a farmer, hit the line with a piece of heavy equipment,” Kern County Fire Department Capt. Tom Ellison said. “The operator of that vehicle was killed.


Neighbors concerned about safety in fiber line construction

Residents of a Huntersville neighborhood contacted Channel 9 after they said AT&T’s fiber line work has caused a string of gas and water main breaks in the area.

A gas line was hit Monday night on Harvington Drive. It was repaired, but neighbors said they are tired of the problems.

The issues started last week when a contractor installing AT&T fiber lines accidentally severed AT&T service lines for the neighborhood. The service was out for more than 12 hours.

A contractor then cut a water line. The gas line that was cut Monday night caused a gas leak, and firefighters had to block off several streets.

Channel 9 anchor John Paul spoke with the neighbors about their complaints and learned that contractors are installing fiber optic lines.

Bill Clegg is not happy with the working being done in his neighborhood.

He showed Paul where fiber crews under contract with AT&T installed boxes in his yard in Huntersville. Clegg said he had no say in the matter and AT&T was granted an easement to install the cables, which provide high-speed Internet service.

“I didn’t realize they could come 10 feet to put a box in my yard for service I may never want down the road,” Clegg said.

Neighbors said that between their yards being torn up and their utilities being cut off, they are fed up.

“They’re tearing up my yard. They’re disrupting my lifestyle. I’m not very happy,” neighbor Ellen Law said. “You can see what they’ve done here. It’s a big mud hole.”

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Construction worker in critical condition after cutting through power line in Newport Beach

A construction worker was critically injured after cutting through a power line and causing a small explosion Monday afternoon in Newport Beach. Police and firefighters were called to the 3 p.m. incident on Via Lido and Via Oporto when people heard the noise of the explosion, said Sgt. John Thulin […]


Construction mishap disrupts phone service

A construction dig that cut a CenturyLink fiber optics line near Casselton on Monday disrupted phone and rerouted 911 service in Jamestown and Valley City. “There was a large impact to both cities and we are not sure of the exact number impacted at this time,”said Rachel Woodman, CenturyLink public […]


Fiber optic line cut during construction affects hundreds

A fiber-optic line cut during construction beneath West Broadway in south Dickinson affected hundreds of Consolidated customers Wednesday night and led to upward of $40,000 in damages for the telecommunications company. Two major fiber-optic conduits were cut near the intersection of Broadway and South Main Avenue, Consolidated Chief Operating Officer […]


Underground gas pipeline accidents in the USA caused by construction workers between 2000-2014

Below is a list of gas mains damage accidents in the USA caused by digging/excavation activities that happened between 2000 and 2014. All involve construction crews accidentally puncturing pipelines and subsequently injuring themselves and causing substantial damages to surrounding properties and the environment. 2000 For the second time in 24 […]


Huge explosion as construction worker cuts 11,000 volt electrical cable

Shocking video footage shows the moment an 11,000-volt electrical cable explodes as two men worked on a site at the House of Lords in Westminster, UK.

Two construction companies have been fined £90,000 after two workers were seriously burned, and one scarred for life after they cut into a live 11,000 V electrical cable.

Southwark Crown Court heard the laborer and a bricklayer were working in a House of Lords site at Millbank, London, on 1 July 2013, to lay bricks around a manhole.

One of the men, who was 22 at the time of the incident, hit the cable with a jackhammer when removing old brickwork and suffered serious burns to his arms, legs, hands and face. He was in hospital for nearly a month receiving treatment to his injuries.

The other worker, a 63-year-old man, suffered significant burns to his face and neck. He has been treated for the longer term traumatic stress because of the incident and is unable to continue working with drills and machines.

Clive Graham Associates Limited (CGA) of 55 Farrington Road, London, who was the principal contractor for the project, pleaded guilty to a breach of Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and was fined £45,000 with £6,612 in costs.

The employer of the two injured workers, Bellmoor Construction Limited (Bellmoor) of Swakeleys Road, Ickenham, Uxbridge, Middlesex, pleaded guilty to a breach of Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and was fined £45,000 with £6,612 in costs.

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