Human remains are found inside an SUV that officials say caused pipeline fire in suburban Houston
Officials say human remains have been found inside an SUV that authorities say hit an aboveground valve on a pipeline in suburban Houston, causing a fire that has burned for four days
DEER PARK, Texas — Human remains were found inside an SUV that authorities say hit an aboveground valve on a pipeline in suburban Houston, causing a fire that has burned for four days, officials said Thursday.
With the fire substantially smaller since it began on Monday, police were able to access the area around the pipeline in Deer Park. Investigators removed the white SUV and towed it away Thursday morning.
While medical examiners with Harris County were processing the vehicle, they recovered and removed human remains found inside, Deer Park officials said in a statement.
“They will now begin working through their identification process, which will take some time,” officials said.
Officials say the underground pipeline, which runs under high-voltage power lines in a grassy corridor between a Walmart and a residential neighborhood in Deer Park, was damaged when the SUV driver left the store’s parking lot, entered the wide grassy area and went through a fence surrounding the valve equipment.
But authorities have offered few details on what caused the vehicle to crash through the fence and hit the pipeline valve.
Energy Transfer, the Dallas-based company that owns the pipeline, on Wednesday called it an accident. Deer Park officials said preliminary investigations by police and FBI agents found no evidence of a terrorist attack.
The pipeline is a 20-inch-wide (50-centimeter-wide) conduit that runs for miles through the Houston area. It carries natural gas liquids through Deer Park and La Porte, both of which are southeast of Houston.
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