UPDATE: Explosion At Texas City Refinery Causes Injuries
16:18 EST Wednesday, March 23, 2005
NEW YORK -(Dow Jones)- An explosion rocked BP Plc's (BP) petroleum refinery in Texas City, Texas, Wednesday injuring at least 10 people and sparking a fire that sent black smoke billowing into the sky.
There was no word on the cause of the blast; pictures on local television showed flames and a number of vehicles damaged, according to the Associated Press.
BP spokesman Hugh Depland said firefighters were working to bring the resulting fire under control. He acknowledged "multiple injuries at the site" but said he couldn't confirm media reports of fatalities at the plant.
KPRC-TV in Houston reported that the Galveston County Medical Examiner said there are deaths but didn't say how many.
Industry sources said the incident occurred at one of the plant's aromatics units, which produce benzene, toluene and xylenes.
The Houston Ship Channel was briefly closed, but the Houston Chronicle reported on its Web site that it has reopened.
Life Flight had been called to the plant, and University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston reported its emergency room was expecting at least 10 victims.
"It was just a real loud explosion," Texas City resident Mike Martin told the Houston Chronicle. "It sounded like a sonic boom, and it shook the pictures bad enough to where it knocked them off the wall. And it frightened me, so I jumped out of bed."
BP's Texas City plant is a sprawling industrial complex that stretches across 1,200 acres with 30 refinery units. The plant processes 460 million barrels of crude oil every day, producing 3% of the U.S. gasoline supply. It employs about 2,000 people.
John Lee with the Galveston office of emergency management said a warning had been issued for people near the plant to stay inside; the warning was lifted about an hour later.
Texas City is about 35 miles southeast of Houston.
Last March there was a blast and fire at a BP refinery in Texas City. That explosion forced the evacuation of the plant for several hours.
Dow Jones Newswires
03-23-05 1618ET
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