By News staff
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (AP) -- A natural-gas explosion that injured 18 people and damaged 42 buildings in Springfield's entertainment district was blamed Sunday on a utility worker who accidentally punctured a high-pressure pipeline while looking for a leak.
State Fire Marshal Stephen Coan said the Friday-night blast was caused by "human error." He didn't name the Columbia Gas Co. worker who pierced the pipe while responding to reports of a gas leak.
The worker damaged the underground pipe while following outdated markings on a sidewalk and using a metal probe to locate the source of the leak, Coan said. A flood of gas then built up in a building that housed a strip club, and some kind of spark touched off the blast, officials said.