Inquiry begins into gas explosion

An investigation has begun into the cause of the Abercanaid blaze

An investigation has begun into the cause of a gas mains blast that left homes in two south Wales valleys villages without a supply.

The fire at Abercanaid, Merthyr Tydfil, took 20 hours to bring under control after the explosion on Friday night.

Engineers worked all weekend to return the gas supply to 1,500 homes in Aberfan and Merthyr Vale.

Wales and West Utilities (WWU) said it was too early to speculate about the possible causes.

The company said fewer than 200 properties were still without gas on Monday morning, and those were homes to which engineers were unable to gain access.

A spokesperson for the company said: "We would ask that these people contact us to arrange for an engineer to call using the contact details they have been provided with."

WWU had initially said it first feared supplies might be affected for weeks following the blast.

Hitting pipes

A supporting footbridge, carrying the main, collapsed in the subsequent fire.

However, council structural engineers found that the surviving footbridge frame is able to support a temporary connection in order to get people back on supply.

About 50 homes were evacuated during the fire, which saw flames shooting up to an estimated 50ft (15m). The fire was put out on Saturday afternoon.

It is not yet known what caused the blast, but WWU says the company had not ruled out "third party interference."

A local councillor said he had been told that children were hitting the pipes beforehand.