MASHHAD/TEHRAN – An explosion in a gas pipeline near the northeastern city of Mashhad on Friday killed 4 people and injured 16 others, Alireza Gharibi, director of the Iran Gas Engineering and Development Company, told the Mehr News Agency.

The blast occurred in the Mazdavand region, 90 km from Mashhad, when an excavator struck the pipeline which transports gas from the Khangiran refinery in Sarakhs to Mashhad, Gharibi told ISNA.
""All the injured were transferred to a hospital in Mashhad and received treatment,"" he noted.
The fire in the 30-inch pipeline covered an area with a radius of 300 meters, Gharibi stated, adding it took three hours to put out the fire.
The official said the incident did not disrupt gas supply to industrial centers or gas-fired power plants.   However, the Mehr News Agency reported that in order to compensate for gas cuts some industrial units and plants have been temporarily put out of service in the vast Khorasan region, which covers the three provinces of Khorasan Razavi and North and South Khorasan, to supply gas to households and commercial centers.
Now with the coordination of the National Iranian Oil Refining and Distribution Company (NIORDC) some power plants are using liquid gas to produce electricity.
It will take 48-72 hours to put the pipeline on the track