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Explosion rocks Surrey neighbourhood

Crews were decommissioning fuel tanks at a gas station when one of them blew
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Work site in Newton where a gas station fuel tank exploded while being decommissioned.

South Newton was rocked by an explosion this week after a construction blast shattered windows in the area.

At about 8 a.m. Thursday, crews were working at 62 Avenue and King George Boulevard when sparks flew into an empty fuel tank at a gas station.

WorkSafeBC spokesperson Donna Freeman said crews were decommissioning gas four gas tanks at the site. Two of the fuel containers had been taken out, and crews were working on the third.

"One worker was spraying water on the tank, while the other was using a cutting torch," Freeman said. "There may have been some gas vapour emitting from the sludge in the tank, and the spark ignited at the far end of the tank away from the workers."

She said it was noise percussion that blew out the window of the neighbouring house and the excavator.

There were no injuries, and Freeman said WorkSafeBC will be at the site for a while.

@diakiw