The National Transportation Safety Board released its first report Wednesday detailing the natural gas-fueled explosion that leveled a north Oak Cliff apartment building and killed three people.
The document offers an early account of what happened, though investigators say it could take more than a year to determine the catastrophe’s cause.
Dallas Fire-Rescue crews were responding May 28 to a reported gas leak at The Clyde apartments on East Ninth Street near Patton Avenue, when the building exploded and caught fire. Three residents — Sylvia Collins, 79; Marisol Pérez, 37; and her 18-month-old son, Erik Pérez Sanchez Jr. — were killed. At least five others were injured.
The report lands amid at least four legal claims against Atmos Energy, the natural gas utility whose service line to the 23-unit complex was struck by a drilling rig before the blast. Allegations include that the company failed to repair repeated gas leaks, replace an aging plastic pipeline and properly mark underground gas lines before drilling was to take place at the site.
A Dallas County judge has ordered Atmos to preserve records connected to the explosion and physical evidence in the area.
The utility has repeatedly denied any fault, pointing to the third-party company whose drill struck the service line as the cause of the explosion.
“Third parties are responsible for the harms alleged in Plaintiffs’ petitions,” Atmos lawyers wrote Monday in a court filing.
This is a breaking story and will be updated.