NARRAGANSETT, R.I. (WPRI) —
The puzzlement and speculation continued, as crews dug up a thick electrical cable Tuesday at the site of this weekend’s unexplained explosion at Salty Brine State Beach in Narragansett.
While most of the beach remained open to people who wanted to enjoy the sand and surf Tuesday, some of the beach had been closed down.
Several agencies were working together to dig up the cable, which was buried a couple feet deep, requiring a lot of digging from an excavator. The Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management told WPRI.com Tuesday both the Coast Guard and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers were inspecting that cable and the jetty itself.
During a news conference Tuesday afternoon, the DEM director said the cables belonged to the Coast Guard and were “de-engergized” in 2007 when it switched to solar power for its navigational tools on the jetty.
Crews ended up cutting the cable into pieces Tuesday and carrying them away.
Kathleen Danise, 60, of Waterbury, Conn., is now recovering from broken bones after the explosion Saturday threw her 10 feet into the air and onto rocks of a nearby jetty.
“We’ve taken this matter very seriously,” said Larry Mouradjian, DEM Bureau of Natural Resources. “Obviously, we have an injured beach patron and that’s very concerning to us. What’s more concerning is we don’t readily understand exactly what happened.”
The state fire marshal said there is no evidence of an explosion.
“We have absolutely no evidence to lead us to believe that this was an explosive event,” said Jack Chartier, Rhode Island State Fire Marshal.
Officials continued to reassure people the beach is safe. They also say there’s no evidence of a malicious incident.