One dead, three injured in natural gas pipeline fire in California

[November 14, 2015]  (Reuters) - One person was killed and three others were injured on Friday when a natural gas line in California was ruptured by farming equipment, triggering a massive blaze, fire officials said.

The Pacific Gas & Electric Corp line was buried deep underground when it was sliced, and the ensuing gas leak ignited a 200-foot fireball near the city of Bakersfield, the Kern County Fire Department said.

The operator of the farming equipment was killed and three other people were hospitalized, fire officials said.

Homes and businesses near the fire were evacuated while crews gained control of the blaze.

Pacific Gas and Electric said the gas line was quickly shut down, KBAK-TV reported. The California Public Utilities Commission said an investigator was dispatched to the site.

(Reporting by Vijaykumar Vedala in Bengaluru and Victoria Cavaliere in Los Angeles; Editing by Diane Craft)

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