Around 3:30 pm while laying water pipes, a public works vehicle accidentally perforated a medium-pressure polyethylene gas pipeline (diam.: 50 mm, depth: 80 cm) on a street, causing a leak. The gas department arrived onsite at 3:50 pm and ‘pinched’ the pipeline to stop the leak. A gas explosion at 4:20 pm destroyed 1 house and damaged a 2nd dwelling. A safety perimeter was established and a rescue team with dogs searched the rubble and removed victims buried underneath, but 4 deaths were reported: a young woman living in one of the homes, 2 public works subcontractors and an employee with the gas company, who died from injuries 2 days after the accident. Three other employees with the gas company and a contractor working onsite were also injured, one of whom in serious condition. Judicial and administrative investigations were carried out to determine the origin of the accident. The explanation of a major leak subsequent to the intervention of gas department staff was postulated; plugging the pipeline with lead immediately upon perforation could not have cut the gas supply since the lead pipe had merely served as a sheath for the polyethylene pipe. The gas had therefore continued to be conveyed via the polyethylene pipe despite this pinching on the lead pipe.

On 29th March, 2011, the Saint-Quentin Magistrates’ Court delivered its ruling. A €250,000 fine was levied against the gas department; the public works subcontractor was slapped with a €10,000 fine.