Human remains found in a burned-out car that hit an Energy Transfer gas pipeline ET earlier this week in Houston, and have launched a criminal investigation, officials said Thursday.
Police towed the vehicle that struck the pipeline and Harris County medical examiners recovered human remains, the Deer Park Office of Emergency Management said in a statement.
Medical examiners will begin identifying the remains.
Energy Transfer said Thursday that a fire that broke out Monday at its liquid natural gas pipeline (link) in La Porte, Texas, was safely extinguished and that it was installing isolation equipment.
“The investigation into the cause of the damage to our pipeline is ongoing by local law enforcement,” Energy Transfer said in a statement.
The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the reported criminal investigation or the human remains discovered in the car.
The fire is suspected to be related to the Justice pipeline, according to researchers at investment firm Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. However, Energy Transfer did not confirm the name or capacity of the pipeline.
The Justice pipeline, which entered service in 2012 with a capacity of 375,000 barrels per day, transports Grade Y — a blend of natural gas liquids — from the Permian and Eagle Ford shale fields in Texas to Energy Transfer’s Mont Belvieu fractionators.