Mystery Rhode Island beach blast blamed on hydrogen gas

An explosion that injured a woman at a Rhode Island beach earlier this month was a likely the result of a build up of hydrogen gas from a forgotten power cable buried beneath the sand, state officials said on Friday.

Scientists at the University of Rhode Island Graduate School of Oceanography determined the cause of the blast, the Department of Environmental Management said Friday during a news conference.

Coit said scientists took 10 samples to test the beach for hydrogen on Friday and didn’t detect any.

The cause of the blast and subsequent mystery fascinated Rhode Islanders who know that the Ocean State can be a blast to visit, but not quite like this.

According to the state, the issue is particular to Salty Brine State Beach, with the DEM stating “there are no other state beaches that have any such abandoned USCG cables and no other combustion incident has ever occurred at any other state beach”.

Authorities investigate a mysterious explosion that threw a beachgoer into a nearby jetty at Salty Brine beach in Narragansett, R.I., on Saturday, July 11, 2015.

“I’m grateful to the extraordinary scientists at URI, especially the team from the Graduate School of Oceanography, whose hard work led to this explanation”, said Rhode Island Gov. Raimondo.

It is also unlikely to happen anywhere else as Salty Brine State Beach, which is within the Point Judith Harbor of Refuge and overlooks the joining of the Atlantic Ocean and Narragansett Bay’s west passage, is the only place that has an abandoned Coast Guard cable.

DEM officials show a slide detailing the “very likely” cause of the blast at Salty Brine State Beach.

“The beach has been trenched, dug and aerated, and we’ve got no concerns for public safety”, Coit said.

The Coast Guard does not believe there are cables underneath any other beaches in the state, Oldham said.