Seven persons died as a result of an April 24 rupture of a natural gas distribution pipeline outside of a small strip mall in Toronto, according to the Toronto Fire Marshal’s Office.

A construction crew involved in sidewalk repair allegedly struck a high-pressure line believed to be owned by Enbridge Gas Distribution Inc. with a backhoe at around 2 p.m. that day, triggering a blast that “pretty well blew the entire building” that housed four businesses — a hairdresser, pizzeria, dry cleaners and wine store, said Tony Pacheco, executive assistant to the fire marshal.

Six female bodies and one male body were removed from the scene, and four persons sustained minor injuries, Pacheco told NGI. Investigators were at the blast site last week sifting through rubble and trying to determine the official cause of the deadly incident. “We believe it was a backhoe” that severed the pipeline, he said. “That’s where it’s pointing,” but the cause still is being investigated.

Captain Don Marsden of the Toronto Fire Service reported that gas-related leaks and mishaps accounted for a very small percentage — 0.05% — of the total incidents investigated by the department.

Enbridge spokeswoman Lisa McCarney declined to comment on the explosion last week, but she said her company was cooperating fully with fire investigators. “Our sympathies and thoughts are with the families and friends of [the victims of] this tragedy.”

Enbridge was one of a number of gas utilities that received awards from the American Gas Association (AGA) last month for their “significant achievement” in the area of accident prevention in 2002.

Toronto-based Enbridge Gas Distribution, a subsidiary of Enbridge Inc., owns and operates Canada’s largest gas distribution company, providing service to about 1.6 million customers in Quebec and Ontario, as well as New York State. It distributes approximately 420 Bcf of gas per year.

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