At least 2 injured in Jiangxi natural gas pipeline blast

A pipeline carrying natural gas from Central Asia to southern China ruptured and exploded in Shangli county, Jiangxi province yesterday, injuring at least two people and halting gas supplies, state media reported.

The explosion, which occurred inside an industrial park and was only 300 metres from a highway service station, knocked over pedestrians and workers at a construction site several hundred metres away, Xinhua reported.

The exploded section, the length of which was not known, was part of the mainland's second West-East Gas Pipeline Project and came into operation in mid-2011.

Local authorities were still verifying the number of injured and were investigating the cause of the accident.

A team of experts concluded there was no risk of a further leakage from the pipeline, local news portal jxnews.com.cn said, adding that the local environment and daily life of locals would not be affected.

The accident follows a similar blast two months ago in the provincial capital, Nanchang , where the above-mentioned pipeline also passes. It remains unclear if the blast also involved the massive West-East Gas Pipeline Project.

An underground gas pipeline exploded on March 19 in the centre of the city, destroying a 100-metre section of a road and knocking off sewer covers several hundred metres away. No casualties were reported.

Two transnational pipelines stretching east from the resource-rich western regions are expected to transport a total of 30 billion cubic metres this year.

The first pipeline, reaching 4,200 kilometres across 10 provinces, starts in Xinjiang and ends in Shanghai.

The second pipeline, also connecting Xinjiang and Shanghai, runs more than 7,000 kilometres across 13 provinces and municipalities. The government started building a third line in October, which is due to be completed in 2015.