Updated:  Gas pipeline explodes in Appomattox

Updated:  3:25 p.m.

Dozens have been evacuated and five people are injured following an early-morning rupture of a gas pipeline in Appomattox that caused an explosion that destroyed two houses.

Appomattox County Sheriff Wilson Staples said a Williams Gas pipeline ruptured along Virginia 26 just north of the town of Appomattox at 7:47 a.m. The rupture gave some residents just enough time to get out of their homes before an explosion rocked the area and sent flames 300 feet into the air.

Officials evacuated residents from 12 houses in the immediate area, said Sgt. David Cooper of the Virginia State Police.

No serious injuries have been reported; five people were treated and released, said Vicky Phelps, the public information officer for Appomattox County.

An evacuation shelter has been set up by the county at Appomattox High School. By 2:30 p.m., 46 people had registered with the Red Cross. Volunteers were on hand to serve food and offer other assistance.

It is not known when residents will be allowed to return to their homes; a county emergency management team representative told people at the shelter that federal investigators would need to inspect the area before that determination is made.

The cause of the rupture is unknown, although more details are expected at a 4 p.m. news conference. Bobby Wingfield, Appomattox County director of public safety, said gas officials detected the rupture almost immediately and shut off the gas. What exploded was the residue in the pipe. Flames from the explosion were visible from miles away.

The blast left a crater ap-proximately 15 feet across on Virginia 26, about a mile north of U.S. 460. Large hunks of pipeline were blown across the road and are strewn in a nearby field. The explosion also flung rocks and other debris onto the roofs of nearby homes.

Residents in the area had little time to escape. Staples said a sheriff’s deputy happened to be in the area and began evacuating homes within minutes of the rupture.

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An early-morning rupture of a gas pipeline in Appomattox caused an explosion that destroyed at least two houses and injured at least five people.

Appomattox County Sheriff Wilson Staples said a Transco gas pipeline ruptured along Virginia 26 just north of the town of Appomattox at 7:47 a.m.

The rupture gave some residents just enough time to get out of their homes before an explosion consumed two houses.

Staples said there have been no deaths in the explosion and one injury.

Almost 50 people have been evacuated from the immediate area, along Virginia 26 between Log Cabin and Oakville roads.