Four people were injured in a fire that occurred Thursday in an ExxonMobil refinery located in Texas, in the south of the United States, described as a “major industrial accident” by local police. “Officers are at the scene of a major industrial accident,” Harris County law enforcement tweeted overnight Wednesday through Thursday, adding that the fire occurred at the ExxonMobil plant in Baytown, a town near Houston.
Three injured were evacuated by helicopter and the fourth taken to hospital by ambulance, police said “no deaths have been reported.”
Baytown’s ExxonMobil plant tweeted that a “fire started” at the site around 1 a.m. local time on Thursday and that the company “is working with local authorities to resolve this issue as soon as possible. possible ”. “ExxonMobil emergency teams continue to work to extinguish this fire,” said a spokeswoman for ExxonMobil, who said the fire had affected facilities containing gasoline components.
Ongoing measurements around the site
The teams on site “continue to measure the air quality on the site and at the periphery”, continued the spokesperson. “The information available does not indicate a disturbance at this stage. “
The Baytown refinery began operating in 1920 and the chemical plant in 1940, according to ExxonMobil. The facilities include four manufacturing sites, which employ approximately 7,000 people.
Texas, a state known for its fossil fuels, is a major oil producer.
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