3 Die In Explosion At Ark. Fuel Storage Facility

JON GAMBRELL

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — An empty gasoline tank undergoing repairs exploded Tuesday at a fuel storage facility in rural north-central Arkansas, killing three workers, authorities said.

The tank had been cleaned previously and workers were preparing to install a new gauge on it when the blast occurred just before 2:30 p.m., said Rick Rainey, spokesman for the facility's owner, Houston-based energy company TEPPCO Partners LP.

Rainey said it was not immediately clear where the workers were at the time of the explosion.

Three workers for an outside company contracted to do the repairs died in the blast south of Searcy in White County, said Tommy Jackson, a spokesman for the Arkansas Department of Emergency Management.

Officials said the workers were employed by C&C Welding of Elizabethtown, Ky. A woman who answered the phone there acknowledged those killed worked for the company but declined further comment.

Rainey said TEPPCO was in contact with local first responders and federal work safety officials about the explosion.