A ground vibration lasting more than 10 minutes was recorded and then propagated downstream of the pipe until a
distance of 10 kilometres from ground zero. A witness living 3 km from the scene of the accident declared to have heard
a sound similar to that of thunder around 9:00 am. This vibratory phenomenon propagated into the pipeline, causing
flanges to loosen along with secondary leaks, some of which actually ignited. The step of closing pipe valves was further
complicated by these vibrations.
The explosion created a crater 10 m in diameter and 4 m deep.