Officials unsure what caused gas line explosion near Williamsburg

Whitley County officials say it is still unclear what caused a Sunday evening gas line explosion near Williamsburg.

Whitley County Emergency Management Director Danny Moses said the gas explosion was reported about 9:15 p.m. on Alsile Road, and that he and the Woodbine Volunteer Fire Department responded.

"You could smell gas but by the time we got there most of it had dissipated," Moses noted.

Tim Moses with Champ Oil also responded to the scene and shut off several compressors Sunday night until repairs could be made Monday to the six-inch transmission line.

"There were no evacuations. Nobody was hurt. There was no fire," Danny Moses noted. "It could have been a lot worse. If there had been houses close by there could have been a spark or we might have had to evacuate. Luckily where it was at we didn’t have to do either."

He said that one vehicle was damaged due to debris in the roadway, which was caused by the explosion.

The owner of the vehicle said there was some damage to the vehicle’s A-frame but she was able to drive the vehicle away from the scene.

Emergency officials blocked off both ends of the roadway until the gas line was shut off.

Moses said there were several possibilities in terms of what could have caused the explosion but no one was sure about the exact cause.