Huge explosion in Venezuela’s refinery, 39 people killed
Punto Fijo (Venezuela): A huge explosion rocked Venezuela’s biggest oil refinery, killing at least 39 people and injuring more than 80 others. President Hugoo Chavez ordered an investigation to determine the cause of the explosion. Government officials have assured to start the refinery within two days and said that the country has plenty of fuel supplies on hand to meet domestic needs as well as export commitments.
Balls of fire rose over the Amuay refinery on Saturday, among the largest in the world, in video posted on the Internet by people who were nearby at the time.
The explosion shattered walls of nearby shops, ripped out windows from homes and left the surrounding streets covered with rubble and twisted scraps of metal.
Vice President Elias Jaua, who travelled to the area in western Venezuela, said on state television late on Saturday that at least 39 people were killed by the explosion, up from the earlier death toll of 26. He said that the dead included 18 National Guard troops and that six of the bodies had not yet been identified. Other officials said earlier that the dead included a 10-year-old boy.
In a neighbourhood next to the refinery, shopkeeper Yolimar Romero said she was at her computer when a shock wave swept over the area shortly after 1 am (local time).
“At that instant, the whole house shook as if it were an earthquake,” she said. “The windows went flying off with their frames and everything.”
Electricity was knocked out, leaving Romero in the dark and her house filled with smoke. She found a flashlight and started looking for her husband and three children.
At least 86 people were injured, nine of them seriously, Health Minister Eugenia Sader said at a hospital where the wounded were taken. She said 77 people suffered light injuries and were released.
Flames reaching nearly 30 metres into the night air still crackled almost 20 hours after the explosion occurred, giving off searing heat felt by the residents of the neighbourhood located approximately 300 metres from the refinery.
