NU Online News Service, Sept. 10, 11:46 a.m. EDT
A gas line explosion in San Bruno, Calif., Thursday evening could cause "tens of millions of dollars" in insured losses after it took at least four lives, and possibly more.
The explosion occurred at 6 p.m. Pacific Time, destroying at least 30 homes and damaging scores of other homes.
In a statement released by the Insurance Information Network of California, Robert Hartwig, president of the Insurance Information Institute, said that based on the description of the incident, insurance losses could reach into the tens of millions of dollars.
In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the company said it has liabity insurance coverage for damages caused by fire in the amount of approximately $992 million in excess of a $10 million deductible. The company added that depending upon the outcome of an investigation, and if insurance recoveriers are unavailable or insufficient to cover losses, there could be a material adverse impact on it financially.
According to KCBS radio, the official death toll now stands at four. Earlier reports put the death toll at six. However, the death toll could go higher as officials search the destroyed homes today. According to reports 55 people were injured, mostly with burns, and a call went out for blood donations as many will need surgery for their injuries.
Pacific Gas and Electric Company issued a statement saying that a 30-inch steel gas transmission pipeline was isolated and gas flow stopped to the affected area.
As of 4 a.m., the company said approximately 300 customers were without gas service and about 700 customers were without electricity. Initially, the company said it cut off electric service to 5,800 customers.
San Bruno sits about 12 miles south of San Francisco and a few miles west of San Francisco International Airport.
Reports say firefighters were initially hampered in fighting the blaze because water mains in the area were destroyed when the natural gas line exploded. An eyewitness report on KCBS said firefighters were held up for at least a half hour while water was trucked into the area.
During a press conference this morning, California's Lt. Gov. Abel Maldonaldo said as of 8 a.m. PDT, the fire is 75 percent contained, a total of 15 acres were damaged and 38 homes were destroyed. Earlier reports put the number at more than 50 homes destroyed. Four firefighters were injured, treated and released.
Risk Management Solutions (RMS) said the cause for the rupture has yet to be determined, but there is no indication that either an act of terrorism or earthquake were involved. RMS said it would not be issuing an insured loss estimate.
PG&E said the National Transportation Safety Board will be investigating the pipeline incident.
This story was updated at 4:06 p.m. EDT with information on PG&E's liability coverage.
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