Pipeline Break Spills Crude Oil Into Los Angeles' Atwater Village

[May 15, 2014]  (Reuters) - An estimated 50,000 gallons of crude oil spilled over a half-mile area due to a break in an above-ground pipeline in Los Angeles on Thursday, the fire department said on Thursday.

No injuries were reported, the Los Angeles Fire Department said in a statement. The pipeline was shut off remotely, and the incident shut down a section of the Atwater Village area of the city, a local NBC affiliate reported.

"Oil is knee-high in some areas," the fire department said. "A handful of commercial businesses are affected."

The report did not say which company operates the pipeline.

The break was near San Fernando Road in Atwater Village, the fire department said.

(Reporting by Arpan Varghese in Bangalore and Eric M. Johnson in Seattle; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn)

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