Combustible gas at Canadian pipeline 'took hours to burn off'

Combustible gas from a pipeline explosion in Canada took between eight and nine hours to burn off, although the personal safety of residents nearby was not put in jeopardy.

The accident occurred near a town in Ontario on Saturday (February 19th) and natural resources firm TransCanada Corp admitted an investigation into the incident has been slowed due to adverse weather conditions and a challenging location.

Spokesman James Millar told the Calgary Herald: "It is in a fairly remote area, the only way to get in is snowmobile or helicopter."

According to the newspaper, staff at TransCanada Corp shut off control centre valves to the pipeline after spotting a drop in pressure.

Despite this, gas already in the system caught alight and blazed for several hours.

Mr Millar confirmed the company, which recently reported comparable earnings of $384 million (£236 million) in the fourth quarter of 2010, will work with investigators from the National Energy Board and the Canadian Transportation Safety Board to discover the cause of the blast.