US pipeline shutdown fuels fist fights at petrol stations
RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA Fuel shortages worsened and tensions rose in south-eastern US on Wednesday, as the shutdown of the largest US fuel pipeline network entered its sixth day.
Later in the day, Colonial Pipeline said it has begun to slowly restart the pipeline.
Meanwhile, fist fights at petrol stations were reported as tensions bubbled. One video showed an altercation between two customers at a station in North Carolina.
A ransomware attack on the Colonial Pipeline last week halted 2.5 million barrels per day of fuel shipments.
The pipeline stretches 8,850km from US Gulf Coast oil refineries to consumers in Mid-Atlantic and South-east states.
Nearly 60 per cent of petrol stations in metro Atlanta were without petrol, tracking company GasBuddy said.
Its survey showed 65 per cent of stations in North Carolina and 43 per cent in Georgia and South Carolina were without fuel. Virginia also reported high outages. - REUTERS
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