Two Reported Killed In Iran Pipeline Explosion

Reports from Iran say at least two people were killed and more than a dozen others were wounded in an explosion at a gas pipeline in northeastern Iran.

The official IRNA news agency quoted energy official Alireza Gharibi as saying the September 10 explosion occurred at a pipeline carrying gas from Sarakhs to Mashhad.

Gharibi said 16 people were hospitalized with injuries, but mentioned no fatalities.

But the semiofficial Mehr news agency claimed two people were killed, adding that the blast was caused by an excavator mistakenly hitting the pipeline.

compiled from Reuters reports