MAJOR EXPLOSION at Valero Plant oil refinery - fire crews scramble to the scene
AN OIL refinery has exploded in at the Valero plant in Texas City, Texas, USA with emergency crews on the scene responding to the fire.
Texas City: There are no known casualties or injuries at this time
Video of the scene shows smoke visible from miles away.
A worker from a nearby plant, Michael Larsson, said: “The whole building shook.
“I could feel the building vibrate.
“This office building I'm in is made for these type of events, so I knew it must be something pretty serious when the building shakes.”
Breaking: There are reports of an explosion at Valero refinery in Texas City, Texas pic.twitter.com/j12EnTcx2g
— PM Breaking News (@PMBreakingNews) 19 April 2018
Texas city explosion?? @abc13houston pic.twitter.com/p8okT2yDji
— Max (@maxisfluffytea) 19 April 2018
There are around 27,000 people living within three miles of the plant.
Chemicals stored there include at least 280,000 pounds of hydrogen fluoride which is one of the most deadly compounds used in refining and capable of spreading large distances.
Witnesses said the incident happened at 4.45pm local time (11.45pm GMT).
The fire has been contained but crews will remain on site until it is extinguished.
There has been an explosion at the Valero plant. As per Valero there is no need for a shelter plant. At the current time we have fire crews from the area and industry responding to the fire. No known casualties or injuries. Please continue to monitor.
— City of Texas City (@CityofTexasCity) 19 April 2018
Millions of pounds of flammables are also at the refinery.
A boiler failure at the refinery killed one person and left two other workers hurt in 2009.
The refinery has no chemical safety violations from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration in the last five years.
It was penalised for two serious violations related to ladder safety in 2016.