At least 24 killed in blast at Venezuela refinery

A HUGE explosion rocked Venezuela’s biggest oil refinery yesterday, killing at least 24 people and injuring more than 50 others in the deadliest ­disaster in living memory for the country’s oil industry.

Videos posted on the internet showed balls of fire rising over the Amuay refinery, one of the largest in the world.

A ten-year-old boy was among the dead, and at least 53 people were injured, Falcon state governor Stella Lugo said on television, adding that firefighters had controlled the flames at the refinery on the Paraguana Peninsula in western Venezuela, where large clouds of smoke were rising.

At least 24 people were killed, many of them National Guard troops stationed at the refinery, vice-president Elias Jaua said after travelling to the area. He said the authorities were “trying to save the greatest number of lives”.

Oil minister Rafael Ramirez said Venezuela has enough fuel supplies to guarantee ­continued exports and domestic supply.

The blast occurred when a gas leak created a cloud that ignited, Ramirez said.

“That gas generated a cloud that later exploded and has caused fires in at least two tanks of the refinery and surrounding areas,” he added. “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.

“The areas that had to be evacuated were evacuated,” Lugo said, according to the state-run Venezuelan News Agency. “The situation is controlled.”

Ramirez said supplies of fuel had been cut off to part of the refinery. Troops were securing the area at the site, governor Lugo said.

Amuay is part of the Paraguana Refinery Complex, which includes the adjacent Cardon refinery. Together, the two refineries process about 900,000 barrels of crude a day and 200,000 barrels of petrol. Venezuela is a major supplier of fuel to the US.