NGI reported Monday that the 12th victim of the Aug. 19explosion and fire on El Paso Natural Gas had died Friday based onmisinformation received during an interview with Stacey Gerard,deputy administrator of the Department of Transportation’s Officeof Pipeline Safety (OPS). “We got an internal call that the person[12th victim] had died. I mean that’s really all we’re going by,”said DOT spokeswoman Debbie Hinz in trying to explain the erroryesterday. The sole survivor of the New Mexico blast, Amanda Smith,25, remains in critical condition at the University Medical Centerin Lubbock, TX.

©Copyright 2000 Intelligence Press Inc. All rights reserved. Thepreceding news report may not be republished or redistributed, inwhole or in part, in any form, without prior written consent ofIntelligence Press, Inc.