BP confirms at least 14 dead in Texas City refinery blast

24 March 2005 02:34  [Source: ICIS news]

HOUSTON (CNI)--A huge explosion that rocked BP’s Texas City refinery Wednesday killed at least 14 people, BP officials said.

 

“It is my deep regret that we believe we have 14 losses of life” as a result of the explosion and subsequent fire,” BP site manager Don Parus told reporters Wednesday night. BP was still waiting for an official death toll from the medical examiner's office in Galveston County.

 

Parus said search and recovery teams were continuing to sift through the damaged area and company officials were still attempting to account for all 1,800 BP employees.

 

BP officials said many contract workers were also at the refinery on Wednesday, noting that some units at the sprawling complex were undergoing turnaround maintenance.

 

Parus said more than 70 people were sent to local hospitals in the wake of the blast.

 

The University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) in Galveston was treating 22 patients from the explosion, including three in critical condition and three in serious condition.

 

The Mainland Medical Center in Texas City admitted another 50-60 patients following the 1:20 pm (GMT 1920) blast. The subsequent fire was extinguished two hours later.

 

BP officials said the cause of the explosion in the refinery’s isomerisation unit was under investigation. They said the cause would be investigated by the company as well as government agencies such as the US Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). The US Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB) also plans to investigate the blast.

 

The unit made components to increase the octane content of gasoline. The refinery produces 3% of all the gasoline in the US, according to BP. BP’s chemical production units at the site were not damaged by the blast.

 

The explosion was one of the deadliest in several years at the Texas City refinery complex south of Houston.

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Author: Brian Ford
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