Incident Report

Subject:                   USA - 1 Injured in Tank Farm Explosion

Date of Email report:   Mon 14/10/2013

Report Detail:

A man was severely burned after a tank farm explosion early Tuesday morning in Karnes County.  According to the Karnes County Sheriff's Department, the blast occurred just outside of Gillett around 4:45 a.m. Karnes County Sheriff Dwayne Villanueva said the explosion started in a tank filled with salt water and oil from the fracking process.

The fire spread to 10 other tanks triggering more explosions. Another explosion happened after sheriff's deputies arrived at the scene so they backed off, Villanueva said.  As of 9:30 a.m., the fire was extinguished. Karnes County officials said the smoke posed no danger to the community. A cause remained unknown Tuesday morning. Villanueva said the tanks are owned by Gulf Coast Acquisitions.

Highway 80 from Gillett was closed while fire crews responded to the blast, but reopened around 9 a.m. Sheriff's deputies say the injured man is 38-years-old and suffered second- or third-degree burns to his face and the left side of this body. He was flown to San Antonio Military Medical Center for treatment.

Additional Documentation:

Video available here: http://www.ksat.com/news/1-injured-in-oil-well-explosion-in-karnes-county/-/478452/22328068/-/3g6fme/-/index.html

Here's footage from at tank farm fire in 2010: