Smoke from an explosion at Petromidia Refinery is seen through an airplane window in Navodari, southeastern Romania, July 2, 2021. (Photo by Cristian Cristel/Xinhua)
The accident, which occurred Friday afternoon at the Petromidia Refinery in southeastern Romania, caused the death of a 32-year-old male employee and wounded several others.
BUCHAREST, July 2 (Xinhua) -- The fire following an explosion Friday afternoon at the Petromidia Refinery in southeastern Romania was extinguished, said the country's Interior Minister Lucian Bode.
"Due to the professionalism of the military firefighters and the refinery firefighters, this tragedy did not turn into a catastrophe," said the minister.
The fire was extinguished in about two and a half hours after the explosion, with firefighters from surrounding counties rushing for reinforcements.
The accident caused the death of a 32-year-old male employee and wounded several others.
Among those injured, two with burns from the explosion were transferred to a hospital in the capital city of Bucharest, according to Health Minister Ioana Mihaila.
"These are two people aged about 50, one with burns on 40 percent of the body surface, grade II A / II B, and another with burns on 35 percent of the body surface, grade II A / II B," the minister said on her social media account, adding that two other victims have so far been taken care in a local hospital for traumas, while the fifth one refused transport to the hospital.
The fire appeared at the gasoline hydrofining plant, and the propagated blast generated three more outbreaks. The probable cause could be the cracking of a pipe, Felix Crudu-Tesloveanu, General Manager of the refinery, was quoted by the Agerpres news agency.
People in the neighborhood have been alerted to stay in their homes and not to open the windows.
The Petromidia Refinery in Navodari is the largest and most modern oil refinery in Romania. A major accident, similar to the one on Friday, also occurred at the refinery on August 22, 2016, in which four people were injured. ■
