Blast hits British Columbia natural gas facility

VANCOUVER, British Columbia – A gas leak at a natural gas facility in northeastern British Columbia appears to have been caused by a pipeline bombing, a spokeswoman for EnCana said Thursday.

EnCana’s Rhona DelFrari said the site of the gas leak was close to the area of four other bombings targeting the company’s pipelines since October.

“Based on the previous incidents that have happened, we’ve called in the (police),” said DelFrari. “The vandalism or the damage that was done to this well indicates that it may have been something that exploded there to cause the leak.”

The explosion took place near Dawson Creek, British Columbia, and DelFrari said the leak is relatively minor. The nearest residence is more than three kilometers (1.8 miles) away from the site. Royal Canadian Mounted Police and EnCana staff have secured and contained the area.

AP