Explosion at South Africa oil refinery, 7 hospitalized

AP | Seven people were hospitalized after an early-morning explosion and fire at an oil refinery near the harbor in the South African city of Durban on Friday, emergency services officials said.

The explosion just after 7 a.m. local time, was heard across the city and caused a large fire that sent plumes of black smoke billowing.

Authorities haven’t said what caused the blast.

It is the second explosion at a South African crude oil refinery this year. Two chemical engineers were killed in an explosion at a Cape Town refinery run by a different company in July.

All 7 injured people at the Durban refinery were workers at the site, according to a paramedic responding to the incident. He said 6 of the workers were being treated for smoke inhalation and the other injured their hip in a fall while trying to escape the fire.

The refinery is owned by South African oil company Engen and is listed as the second biggest in the country. It has a crude oil refining capacity of 120,000 barrels per day, according to Engen.

Engen said a fire burned at the refinery for about an hour and 35 minutes but did not mention an explosion. The cause of the fire was under investigation, the company said.

Engen is majority owned by Malaysian oil and gas company Petronas.