By Ian James
The Daily Record & Sunday Mail
PARATUANA PENINSULA, Venezuela — A gas explosion at Venezuela’s largest oil refinery killed at least 24 people yesterday.
More than 50 others were injured in the blast at the Amuay plant — one of the biggest in the world — on the Paraguana Peninsula in the west of the country.
Those killed included a 10-year-old boy. Falcon state governor Stella Lugo last night said firefighters had controlled the flames at the refinery, where large clouds of smoke were rising, and the Army had secured the plant.
She added: “The areas that had to be evacuated were evacuated. The situation is controlled.
“Of course, there is still a fire rising very high but the specialists tell me there is no risk of another explosion.”
The blast occurred after 1am when a gas leak created a cloud that ignited.
Oil minister Rafael Ramirez said some nearby houses had been damaged.
He added: “The gas generated a cloud that later exploded and caused fires in at least two tanks of the refinery and surrounding areas. 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.
Ramirez confirmed that operations at the refinery had stopped but he expected them to resume in two days.
He said supplies of fuel had been cut off to the part of the plant that was still in flames.
Ramirez said oil workers will determine what caused the gas leak and were inspecting the damage along with state troops.
Venezuelan vice-president Elias Jaua said on Twitter that military air ambulances had been dispatched to take the wounded to hospital.
He said the defence minister was travelling to the refinery along with Ramirez and other officials.
Amuay is part of the Paraguana Refinery Complex, which also 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 Petroleum Exporting Countries.
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