Firefighters are battling a blaze that has engulfed a barge in the Corpus Christi ship channel and involves a grain elevator. The fire is believed to be caused by the barge running into a pipeline. Photo by Carrie Robertson Meyer/Third Coast Photo
Six people are reported missing after a pipeline explosion at 8:05 a.m. Friday, Aug. 21, along Refinery Row in Corpus Christi. Four people are being treated at Christus Spohn Shoreline hospital for injuries and two others were taken by a U.S. Coast Guard helicopter for treatment of severe burns in San Antonio
Initial reports are that the explosion happened at EPIC Products near Lantana and Navigation. Lantana Street and several roads near Up River Road are closed to traffic. Port of Corpus Christi CEO Sean Strawbridge told reporters at around noon that the explosion was from a propane line and that the barge was not part of the port's dredging project.
The Port of Corpus Christi has shut down the inner harbor toward Harbor Bridge.
According to firefighters, the fire following the explosion erupted at a dredging barge in the Corpus Christi ship channel and is currently ablaze.
The barge struck a submerged pipeline, causing the eruption, according to U.S. Coast Guard Lt. Marina Lyons. The fire spread from the pipeline to a grain elevator.
Valero employees rescued multiple people who had ended up in the water. Workers were on board the barge and at the pipeline site when the explosion and fire occurred.
