Official: 1 missing, 2 injured in Louisiana pipeline blaze

PARADIS, La. — One worker was missing and two were injured after an explosion sparked a fire at a Louisiana pipeline Thursday night, officials said.

Authorities don’t yet know what caused the fire on the Phillips 66 pipeline in Paradis, but a crew of six workers was cleaning it at the time, St. Charles Parish Sheriff Greg Champagne said at a news conference.

Two of the workers were hospitalized — one taken to a burn centre— and three had minor or no injuries, the sheriff said. The remaining worker was unaccounted for, and a helicopter was being brought in to help search for him.

Champagne said the source of the 20-inch pipeline had been shut off but the fire would have to burn off the rest of the liquid inside, which could take hours or even days.