State Tv - Explosion Kills At Least 19 At Venezuela's Biggest Refinery Reuters

By Sailu Urribarri

PARAGUANA, Venezuela Sat Aug 25, 2012 9:13am EDT

PARAGUANA, Venezuela (Reuters) - A petrol leak induced an explosion in which harmed a minimum of 19 individuals at Venezuela's largest acrylic refinery on Saturday and hurt greater than 50 inside the OPEC country's worst industrial accident in latest memory.

The dangerous fun time uses a string with minor how to handle things along with unplanned stoppages that have upset state oil firm PDVSA during the last decade, prompting critics to help accuse President Hugo Chavez's administration associated with mismanagement.

It was not immediately crystal clear how the blast might affect operations in the 645,000-barrels-per-day (bpd) Amuay facility, which often makes up two-thirds belonging to the world's second-largest refinery complex, nor to get the length of time productivity could be affected.

State TV demonstrated video footage involving smoke billowing from your refinery seeing that dawn broke, and also emergency workers have been on the scene.

Stella Lugo, that governor of local Falcon state, said the particular explosion had furthermore strike properties inside the spot understanding that a 10-year-old child seemed to be one of many dead.

"We are deploying our own completely fire service team, most each of our health and wellbeing team, the full contingency approach for the requirements regarding Comandante Chavez in order to first of all care for the people suffering from that emergency," Lugo told state TV .

Located for a peninsula missing the actual Caribbean sea while in the western world regarding Venezuela, Amuay is a part of the Paraguana Refining Center, the particular second-biggest refinery complicated on the earth having a strong overall capability of 955,000 bpd.

"A cloud regarding fuel exploded," Energy Minister Rafael Ramirez told state TV. "It was a significant explosion. There is significant harm to facilities so to buildings other the refinery."

Both Ramirez in addition to Lugo claimed the situation was in check for several hours following the explosion at about 1 a.m. community time.

"There's very little chance of an additional explosion," Lugo said.

Ivan Freites, some sort of union leader with the Paraguana complex, reported foam possessed also been used to control the actual blaze.

PDVSA offers not been as successful with duplicated refinery problems throughout latest years, crimping its ability plus their capability in order to gratify serious expansion plans. Power faults, damages plus stoppages for repair also have curbed exports with oil products.

In 2010, there was clearly your significant fireplace with a PDVSA gasoline terminal to the Caribbean snowdonia regarding Bonaire, next a blaze in the boat dock on the Paraguana intricate in which halted transport to get three days.

Also in 2010, a healthy petrol quest rig, the actual Aban Pearl, sank inside the Caribbean. All 95 workers were being rescued safely.

(Additional canceling by Deisy Buitrago and Andrew Cawthorne throughout Caracas; Writing by simply Daniel Wallis; Editing by simply Sandra Maler)