Reuters
At least 53 were injured in the explosion at the Amuay oil refinery.
CARACAS, Venezuela — An explosion at Venezuela’s biggest refinery early Saturday killed at least 19 people and injured more than 50 others in the deadliest disaster in years for the country’s crucial oil industry.
Balls of fire rose over the Amuay refinery, one of the largest in the world, in video posted on the Internet by residents who were nearby at the time.
Those killed included a 10-year-old boy, and at least 53 people were wounded, the governor of Falcon State, Stella Lugo, said on state television. She said firefighters had controlled the flames at the refinery, on the Paraguana Peninsula in western Venezuela, where large clouds of smoke were rising.
“The areas that had to be evacuated were evacuated,” Ms. Lugo said, according to the state-run Venezuelan News Agency. “The situation is controlled. Of course there is still a fire rising very high,” she said, but added that “specialists tell me there is no risk of another explosion.”
The blast occurred after 1 a.m. when a gas leak created a cloud that ignited, the oil minister, Rafael Ramirez, said. Some nearby houses were damaged in the blast, he said.
“That gas generated a cloud that later exploded and has caused fires in at least two tanks of the refinery and surrounding areas,” Mr. Ramirez said on state television. “The blast wave was of a significant magnitude.”
Images in state media showed the flames casting an orange glow against the night sky. One photograph showed an injured man being wheeled away on a stretcher.
Mr. Ramirez said workers would determine what caused the gas leak and were inspecting the damage. He said supplies of fuel had been cut off to the part of the refinery that was still in flames.
Troops were securing the area at the refinery, Ms. Lugo said.
Vice President Elias Jaua said on his Twitter account that the military had been deployed and that air ambulances had been sent to transport the wounded. The defense minister was traveling to the refinery along with Mr. Ramirez and other officials, Mr. Jaua said.
Amuay is part of the Paraguana Refinery Complex, which includes the adjacent Cardon refinery. Together, the two refineries process about 900,000 barrels of crude a day and 200,000 barrels of gasoline. It was unclear to what extent the explosion might affect oil shipments from Venezuela, a member of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries.
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