Birmingham, AL – Federal investigators say gas leaking from a ruptured pipe at a Birmingham public housing complex likely caused a fatal explosion in 2013.
National Transportation Safety Board officials said in a report issued Wednesday that the explosion at the Charles P. Marks Village in Birmingham’s Gate City neighborhood was caused by natural gas released through a large crack in a 62-year-old cast iron main.
Officials say tree growth near the main caused the corroded pipe to rupture and a pilot light inside an apartment ignited the gas once it reached the explosive limit.
Officials say soil near the pipe had absorbed much of the gas’ odor and prevented residents from smelling it before the explosion on Dec. 13, 2013.
The blast killed 40-year-old Tyrennis Mabry and injured several others.