An explosion this morning at a natural gas plant in Gibson, Louisiana, owned by Williams Partners killed three workers and injured two other people. Via the Houma, Louisiana, Courier, contract employees were injured while performing maintenance at the plant, which was not operational and did not have gas flowing through it. The 13 Williams employees who were at the facility were accounted for and were not injured, company officials said.
Despite initial reports of a pipeline explosion, Williams officials believe the blast occurred in a tank that collects hydrocarbons from natural gas pipelines.
It is the latest in a recent string of incidents involving Williams facilities. Two workers were killed and scores more were injured in an explosion at the Williams Olefins plant in Geismar, Louisiana, in 2013. Last year, an explosion and fire at Williams' natural gas facility in Plymouth, Washington, injured one worker.
