Gas line rupture in Corbin quickly contained

A much-needed road project nearly turned into a tragic situation Tuesday afternoon when a road grading crew caused a four-inch gas line to rupture, spewing natural gas into the air for several minutes.

Chardon Contracting, LLC out of Madisonville, KY, was performing grade-work on Gordon Hill when a Delta Gas official said they ran into some trouble.

"Apparently, there is a metal catch basin that shifted when these guys got into the curb and it caused one of our two-inch lines to rupture," said Gerald Baker, Delta Gas Division Manager of Customer Service. "We were able to squeeze off the line and get it fixed."

Baker said the situation really wasn’t that serious, but praised emergency workers for a quick response.

"Any time you see a fire truck, it makes things look a lot worse," Baker said. "Those guys did a great job and they usually do, of securing the scene and we are lucky for that."

Corbin Fire crews responded to the scene and according to Corbin Police Chief Barry McDonald, Delta Gas crews were as quick to respond as the fire units were.

"They seemed to have it under control pretty quick," McDonald said. "We offered to evacuate the area, but the gas men said it was not that serious of a situation."

Crews were on the scene and traffic was diverted until the line was repaired, which was about an hour and a half.