An attorney for the owner of the apartment complex that was leveled by a gas explosion on Thursday has told KERA soil testers were drilling on the property before a gas line was hit.
The explosion apparently killed three people and hospitalized four others Thursday afternoon.
The attorney, Geoff Henley, said a prospective buyer of the complex, O-SDA Industries, had commissioned the soil test of the property from Engineering Consultant Services. Henley said the apartment owner, Samuel Aflalo, wasn't aware of whether ECS had gone through the proper procedures to locate gas lines before drilling.
The National Transportation Safety Board reported on X Thursday that it was sending a team to Dallas to start an investigation into the "natural gas-fueled explosion that destroyed an apartment building in the Oak Cliff neighborhood."
Atmos Energy wrote in an email to KERA that the fire department had reported to the company that "a construction crew unrelated to Atmos Energy damaged a natural gas pipeline near 409 E. 9th Street in Dallas."
"If someone did not do a proper line locate here, it is beyond egregious," Henley said Friday in a printed press release.
KERA was unable to immediately contact ECS but will update this story with any comment.
Aerial photos of the gutted apartment show what appears to be a damaged truck with a drill mounted on the back parked in front of the building.
Henley said Aflalo owned the property for about 10 years and had become close to people in the apartment.
"The owner is shocked by this outcome and likewise mourns this outcome," Henley said. "We still do not know how many perished in this fireball."
Dallas fire chief Justin Ball told reporters Friday that all 19 families in the apartment had been accounted for. He added that the number of fatalities remained at three, with two people dying in the same unit and another in a separate unit.
He also gave an updated account of how the fire department responded. He said a fire engine arrived within two minutes of the gas leak being reported. Fire fighters were there for 10 to 15 minutes going through standard set up procedures, and right before they were about to enter the building it exploded.
"I would say if it had exploded a minute later this would be a much worse situation," Ball said. "Our men and women, they got here really fast, did everything they were supposed to do, and there was great heroics done on this day."
Officials previously said the explosion occurred while firefighters were en route to the scene. It wasn't immediately clear why their was a discrepancy in the accounting of events.
Wen Becerra lives next to the apartment. He told KERA he was coming back from the store when the explosion happened.
"I just hear the boom and all my windows shattered, and so I came outside to see I," Becerra said.
On Friday, he stood outside with his four dogs near the W.H. Adamson High School where officials had set up a temporary family assistance center.
He said he was sleeping out of his car with his dogs but got to visit his home in the morning.
This is a developing news story and will be updated as more details become available.
Dylan Duke is KERA's Breaking News Reporter. Got a tip? Email Dylan Duke at dduke@kera.org.
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