ND gas line accident kills worker

The Bismarck Tribune

MOUNTRAIL, N.D. — A Michigan man was killed after being thrown approximately 100 feet after a vibratory plow hit a natural gas line.

The Mountrail County Sheriff's Department said Thomas Chojnacki, 30, of Posen, Mich., died from injuries suffered in the Monday afternoon accident.

The sheriff's department, along with the Tioga Fire Department, Tioga Ambulance and the Mountrail County emergency coordinator, were dispatched at 1:02 p.m. Monday to 101/2 miles northeast of Tioga, at a spot one half mile into Mountrail County. A 911 caller said a plow had struck a gas line and a man appeared to be dead.

Chojnacki was working for a company installing underground electric lines for Mountrail-Williams Electric Co-op. A vibratory plow hit Williston Basin Interstate Pipeline's high-pressure natural gas line, which was charged with approximately 650 pounds of pressure. The sheriff's department said Chojnacki was behind the plow, measuring the 4-foot deep trench, when the rupture occurred.

The release of natural gas hit Chojnacki and threw him approximately 100 feet. Two other workers were checked out at Tioga Medical Center and released.

The incident remains under investigation by the Mountrail County Sheriff's Department.

Brian Kalk of the Public Service Commission said the Pipeline and Hazardous Material Safety Administration is investigating the accident with assistance fromPSC staff. Kalk said the federal agency is investigating because the accident involves an intrastate pipeline.

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