A massive fire roaring from a gas line rupture is threatening to halt operations at a number of gas and coal plants.
Emergency services were first called to the leak in Bauhinia, in central Queensland, about 8:30am on Tuesday.
Firefighters and paramedics remained at the scene throughout the day as the blaze continued to burn. No one was injured.
Footage of the rupture shows a massive blaze stretching about twice as high as nearby trees.
The 627km line transports as much as 145 terajoules of gas from the Wallumbilla gas hub to large industrial users in Gladstone and Rockhampton.
A massive fire roaring from a gas line rupture is threatening to halt operations at a number of gas and coal plants across Queensland (pictured)
The rupture has instead led to the line being cut further upstream to try and limit the blaze and has completely shut off supply to Gladstone.
The closest plant to the rupture is a scraping station in neighbouring Oombabeer, but could also affect numerous others such as Rollerstone.
Numerous industrial plants are also connected to the gas line as it approaches Gladstone and Rockhampton.
The line cuts could also impact a number of industrial plants including: Queensland Nitrates, Queensland Magnesia Facility, Queensland Alumina Limited Refinery, Boyne Smelters, Rio Tinto Yarwun Refinery and Orica Yarwun.
A Resources Safety and Health Queensland (RSHQ) spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia it is ‘working closely with QFES to monitor the situation’.
‘An RSHQ inspector is now on scene assessing the situation and has launched an investigation.
‘The section has been isolated and the incident is under control.’
The rupture threatens to large impact industrial plants in Gladstone, such as the Rio Tinto Yarwun Refinery (pictured), and a limited amount of residential properties
The company that manages the pipeline among others in Australia, Jemena, confirmed the rupture may also have an effect on residential supply.
A statement from the company also confirmed that an exclusion zone has been established around the rupture.
‘We are currently working to understand the impact of the incident on our customers and other stakeholders,’ told the publication.
‘We apologise for the inconvenience to those who may be impacted by this incident.
‘Our current focus is on ensuring the safety of the site, community, and our personnel.
‘We will then move to develop our restoration plan.’
