COOLIDGE, Ariz. — Federal investigators have released hundreds of documents detailing what happened after the August 15, 2021 fatal rupture of a natural gas line in Coolidge.
The documents made available by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) include preliminary reports, and interviews with various agencies and companies.
They also describe the obstacles first responders encountered when arriving to the scene.
A gas line owned by El Paso Natural Gas Company exploded, setting a farmhouse about 120 yards away on fire.
Father Luis Alvarez and his daughter Valeria Alvarez perished inside the home. Her mother Rosalina Alvarez was somehow able to escape the flames, but the report says she was found by a Pinal County Deputy walking down the street burned so badly, "the skin on the woman’s bottom of her feet was sluffing off due to exposure to intense heat." She was taken to the hospital in critical condition and survived her injuries.
ABC15 had spoken to the family earlier in the year when they were held by inmates who escaped a nearby prison.
A neighbor's camera showed the explosion happened at 5:29 a.m. and according to the report, a train blocked the arrival of some emergency personnel. One investigator estimated it took about 15 minutes before the train was moved.
According to one of the reports, initial calls to the gas line owner went unanswered. By 6:08 a.m., a company representative was en route but even after technicians showed up several reports showed there was trouble turning off gas to the line.
Two main valves needed to be closed and investigators say one took an hour to shut down one and nearly two and half hours to shut down the other.
Some reasons for the delays mentioned in the report were:
- The long distance of the valves from the gas line
- Confusion by technicians of where at least one valve was located
- Muddy conditions
El Paso's parent company, Kinder Morgan, sent ABC15 a statement saying in part:
"We deeply regret the loss of life and injuries that occurred as a result of this accident." Additionally, "the pipeline remains out of service, and we will continue to work closely with PHMSA and other agencies to develop a remedial work plan for a safe and controlled return to service, when appropriate. There are several factors impacting response times, which the report details, but we cannot comment beyond what is included in the report at this time."
NTSB said investigation is still ongoing and the reports do not provide any analysis or conclusions.
Editor's note: This article has been corrected to reflect that El Paso Natural Gas Company representatives arrived by 6:08 a.m. An earlier version of this story reported company representatives arrived by 6:08p.m.
