A massive explosion Friday on a state-owned gas pipeline running through the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh killed at least 16 people and gutted scores of homes

A massive explosion Friday on a state-owned gas pipeline running through the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh killed at least 16 people and gutted scores of homes, a state minister said.
  
"At least 16 people are dead. We have recovered 13 bodies so far," state home minister N. Chinna Rajappa told AFP after the blast near a refinery in the East Godavari district.
  
The fire on the 18-inch (45-centimetre) pipeline owned by the Gas Authority of India Limited (GAIL) was extinguished by mid-morning and the gas had been cut off, a senior administrative officer told AFP by telephone from the scene.
  
At least 15 people were hospitalized with injuries from the explosion, which occurred around 06:30 am (0100 GMT), the company said, while the cause of the blast was not yet known. "We are currently focused on rescue and relief operations," GAIL chairman B.C. Tripathi was quoted as saying by the Press Trust of India (PTI) news agency.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he had asked the petroleum minister and other senior officers to ensure immediate relief at the accident site. "My thoughts with the families of those who lost their lives in the GAIL pipeline fire. Prayers with the injured," he tweeted.
  
Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan told reporters that an investigation had begun.