Dallas Apartment Lawyer Blames Barba Drilling for 3-Death Blast as Burn Victim Sues Atmos
Updated
Updated · CBS New York · May 30
Dallas Apartment Lawyer Blames Barba Drilling for 3-Death Blast as Burn Victim Sues Atmos
5 articles · Updated · CBS New York · May 30
Two days after the Clyde apartments explosion killed at least three people, the complex’s attorney said Barba Drilling caused the gas leak, citing photos and drone footage showing its boring truck at the blast site.
Geoff Henley said the Addison-based company’s rig was “at ground zero” when the leak occurred, while also accusing Atmos Energy and government investigators of withholding a fuller picture from the property owner.
Atmos has said only that a construction crew unrelated to the utility damaged a natural-gas line near the complex, and CBS News Texas said Barba Drilling did not respond to requests for comment.
A separate lawsuit from burned resident Onecimo Ponce Mendoza accuses Atmos of ignoring leak warnings and failing to monitor gas conditions or warn tenants before the explosion.
The blast displaced residents and destroyed belongings, while aid groups and attorneys for victims’ families began relief efforts and accountability claims as two of the three dead remained unidentified.
Drilling company blamed for fatal blast, but was the aging gas pipeline the real ticking time bomb?
Three are dead after a gas line was hit. How did the 'call before you dig' safety system fail so catastrophically?