2 Men Killed as Blasts Rock Natural Gas Well in Texas

A 40-foot fireball throwing off 1,000-degree heat raged from a natural gas well Sunday after an explosion, stymieing efforts to recover the bodies of two workers who died in the blast.

Three explosions rocked the rig 65 miles southeast of Austin late Saturday, sending up the fireball, which illuminated the night sky like a rising sun. Its glow could be seen 20 miles away.

“It’ll probably take a week to get this fire out,” said Pat Campbell, vice president of Joe Bowden’s Wild Well Control Inc.

The names of the victims, both men, were being withheld until all attempts to recover the bodies had been exhausted. No other injuries were reported.

Firefighters kept a steady flow of water on two 8,000-gallon tanks of diesel fuel nearby to prevent another explosion.

The rig is owned by WCS Oil & Gas Inc. of Dallas. The cause of the blast was still undetermined Sunday, said Danny Anderson, the firm’s on-site manager.

Three firefighters suffered minor burns trying to get close enough to pull out one of the bodies.

“The body we saw was burned beyond recognition,” said Spencer Schneider of the 26-member volunteer fire department from nearby Giddings. “From the looks of the mangled wreckage, he never knew what hit him.”

Schneider said the body of the second worker had not been spotted.

The initial blast happened 15 minutes after a shift change and was followed by two more explosions, witnesses said.

Lee County Deputy Sheriff Adam Gonzales said officers would talk to survivors and conduct a full investigation after the bodies are recovered and the fire is under control.

Specialists from the well control company arrived early Sunday and dug a moat aimed at keeping the fire from spreading. Later, they used cranes with long hooks and bulldozers to clear mangled metal. The well is about 8,700 feet deep, Anderson said. He declined to speculate how much natural gas was being released.