The remnants of JJ’s restaurant in Kansas City, Mo. after a gas explosion on Tuesday.

A contractor working for Time Warner Cable is alleged to have pierced a two-inch gas line in Kansas City, Mo., eventually causing a massive explosion that demolished a popular restaurant, leaving one worker dead and 15 injured.

Early Tuesday morning Heartland Midwest LLC, working on behalf of the cable operator, notified local authorities it intended to use a trenchless horizontal boring machine near JJ’s restaurant to install a fiber optic cable to reach a nearby office building.

Mark McDonald, president of North American Gas Workers Association told the Kansas City Star such installations can be dangerous because of nearby gas pipelines.

“You’re basically drilling blind,” McDonald told the newspaper. “You’re taking a lot of risk.”

Authorities now suspect that boring machine pierced the gas line and started a major leak.

There are conflicting reports about when the contractor notified emergency officials about the rupture. Some press accounts suggest it could have been one hour or more before 911 was notified.

Other reports criticize the local gas utility for not treating the gas leak as a more urgent threat.

Evacuations of nearby buildings, including JJ’s, did not begin until at least an hour after authorities were notified. Approximately one hour after that, JJ’s exploded leaving little more than a pile of rubble.

Megan Cramer, a 46-year-old server at JJ’s, was reportedly killed in the blast. More than a dozen others were injured.

At attorney for the contractor said the company was cooperating with local authorities in the investigation.

[flv width=”640″ height=”380”]http://www.phillipdampier.com/video/KCTV Kansas City TWC Contractor Responsible for KCMO Blast 2-20-13.mp4[/flv]

KCTV-TV in Kansas City reports they could find no evidence Heartland Midwest filed a permit request before starting work on behalf of Time Warner Cable.  (2 minutes)