An explosion rocked the Amuay oil refinery in northwestern Venezuela,
killing 24 people, including a 10-year-old boy, a Venezuelan official
said Saturday.
At least 82 were hospitalized, Executive Vice President Elias Jaua told Venezuelan Television (VTV).
"People are very scared,"
said Falcon State Gov. Stella Lugo, according to the state-run AVN news
agency. "They evacuated the areas that had to be evacuated,
but the
situation, as the technicians are telling within the refinery, is
controlled."
The incident occurred at
1:11 a.m. when "we had a release of gas whose origin we are going to
determine," Rafael Ramirez, president of the state-owned petroleum
company PDVSA, told VTV. "The gas generated a cloud
that then exploded and provoked fires in at least two tanks of the
refinery and in the surrounding areas."
He said the explosion damaged the infrastructure of the refinery and nearby houses.
The refinery -- one of the world's largest -- is part of the giant Paraguana complex in Falcon state.
Venezuela, a founding
member of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, is one
of the world's largest oil exporters.
The nation has a refinery capacity of more than 1 million barrels per day, according to OPEC.
Venezuela's oil revenues
represent some 94% of the country's export earnings, more than half of
federal budget revenues and some 30% of gross domestic product, OPEC
says.
The South American
country sends a large percentage of its exports to the United States,
according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
Culled: CNN
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