Register on site Sign in

Death toll in Venezuela's refinery blast rises to 41


http://en.youth.cn   2012-08-27 08:14:00
The death toll of a blast at Venezuela's biggest oil Amuay refinery on Saturday morning has risen from 39 to 41, after two more people died in a hospital of Maracaibo city, Venezuelan authorities said Sunday.

Jose Goncalvez, director of National Guard's Regional Command 3, told local radio station "Union Radio" that two among the 86 people who were injured in the blast died Sunday in Coromoto hospital in Maracaibo.

Some of the injured suffer burns in 75 percent of their bodies.

Venezuelan Energy Minister Rafael Ramirez said in a Sunday's statement that the fire was confined in two fuel tanks, from nine in bloc 23.

"The incident is located in the southern extreme of the Amuay refinery and that the rest of the areas are in complete normality, " Ramirez said.

The Amuay refinery is part of the Paraguana Refinery Complex, the second biggest of the world's oil refineries, which is capable of producing 955,000 barrels of crude per day. Venezuela is South America's biggest oil producer and the world's fifth biggest oil exporter.

The incident occurred on Saturday early morning at 1:11 a.m. ( 0541 GMT) due to a gas leak in Amuay refiner.
 
source : Xinhua     editor:: Alice
  Related Reading