Gas Company Worker Caused Mass. Blast

The state fire marshal say a gas company worker responding to reports of a gas leak in Springfield.  Massachusetts punctured a pipe that led to a massive explosion that injured 18 people.

Authorities on Sunday did not name the worker who caused the natural gas blast. Friday's explosion there flattened a strip club, heavily damaged a day care center and scattered debris over several blocks.

Some officials called it a miracle that no one was killed.

Most of the injured were part of a group of gas workers, firefighters and police officers who ducked for cover behind a utility truck just before the blast. Part of the neighborhood already had been evacuated because of reports of a gas leak and odor.

(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.)