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Texas oil plant blast 'kills 14'
Flames erupted from the plant after the blast
A huge explosion at an oil refinery in Texas has killed at least 14 people and injured more than 100.
The blast at the Texas City plant, which belongs to Britain's BP, shook buildings five miles (8km) away.
Sections of the plant were reduced to cinders and rubble. The refinery, the third-biggest in the US, produces 3% of the country's gasoline supply.
An inquiry into the cause of the blast is under way. Investigators say terrorism is not their main focus.
The refinery has had safety problems in the past. In March last year, it was evacuated after an explosion that cost the company $63,000 in fines.
Last September, two workers died and another was seriously injured when they were scalded by superheated water that escaped from a high-pressure pipe.
'Sad day'
Wednesday's explosion happened at 1330 (1930 GMT) at the western end of the plant, which covers an area of almost 500 hectares.
BP said the blast happened in an isomerisation unit, used to produce octane for petrol. It had been working normally before the explosion, company officials said.
Employee Charles Gregory said he felt the floor rumbling as the blast erupted.
I've never seen flames that high from anything. They were bright orange, with yellow on the side
Judith Mantell, eyewitness
In pictures: Texas oil blast
"It was real scary," he told the Associated Press news agency. "Have you ever heard the thunder real loud? It was like 10 times that."
Thick clouds of black smoke rose into the air as firefighters struggled to douse the flames.
The aftermath of the blast left a gaping hole in the earth, while chunks of charred metal littered the ground. Cars parked nearby were coated with a layer of ash.
The Texas City refinery, 35 miles (55km) south-east of Houston, is the third biggest in the US, employing 2,000 people.
It processes roughly 450,000 barrels of crude oil each day, amounting to about 3% of domestic oil supply in the US and one-third of BP's output across the country.
"We believe 14 people lost their lives as a result of the fire," site director Don Parus said. "It's a sad day for BP."
'Sonic boom'
Health officials said more than 70 of those injured had been working inside the refinery and some of them were in a critical condition.
Others outside the complex had been hit by flying glass, they said.
Texas City resident Mike Martin described "a real loud explosion, like a sonic boom".
"It shook the pictures bad enough to where it knocked them off the wall. And it frightened me, so I jumped out of bed."
Judith Mantell, 62, told the Houston Chronicle the blast lifted her vehicle off the ground at her home five miles (8km) away.
"I've never seen flames that high from anything. They were bright orange, with yellow on the side," she said.
Flames erupted from the plant after the blast
A huge explosion at an oil refinery in Texas has killed at least 14 people and injured more than 100.
The blast at the Texas City plant, which belongs to Britain's BP, shook buildings five miles (8km) away.
Sections of the plant were reduced to cinders and rubble. The refinery, the third-biggest in the US, produces 3% of the country's gasoline supply.
An inquiry into the cause of the blast is under way. Investigators say terrorism is not their main focus.
The refinery has had safety problems in the past. In March last year, it was evacuated after an explosion that cost the company $63,000 in fines.
Last September, two workers died and another was seriously injured when they were scalded by superheated water that escaped from a high-pressure pipe.
'Sad day'
Wednesday's explosion happened at 1330 (1930 GMT) at the western end of the plant, which covers an area of almost 500 hectares.
BP said the blast happened in an isomerisation unit, used to produce octane for petrol. It had been working normally before the explosion, company officials said.
Employee Charles Gregory said he felt the floor rumbling as the blast erupted.
I've never seen flames that high from anything. They were bright orange, with yellow on the side
Judith Mantell, eyewitness
In pictures: Texas oil blast
"It was real scary," he told the Associated Press news agency. "Have you ever heard the thunder real loud? It was like 10 times that."
Thick clouds of black smoke rose into the air as firefighters struggled to douse the flames.
The aftermath of the blast left a gaping hole in the earth, while chunks of charred metal littered the ground. Cars parked nearby were coated with a layer of ash.
The Texas City refinery, 35 miles (55km) south-east of Houston, is the third biggest in the US, employing 2,000 people.
It processes roughly 450,000 barrels of crude oil each day, amounting to about 3% of domestic oil supply in the US and one-third of BP's output across the country.
"We believe 14 people lost their lives as a result of the fire," site director Don Parus said. "It's a sad day for BP."
'Sonic boom'
Health officials said more than 70 of those injured had been working inside the refinery and some of them were in a critical condition.
Others outside the complex had been hit by flying glass, they said.
Texas City resident Mike Martin described "a real loud explosion, like a sonic boom".
"It shook the pictures bad enough to where it knocked them off the wall. And it frightened me, so I jumped out of bed."
Judith Mantell, 62, told the Houston Chronicle the blast lifted her vehicle off the ground at her home five miles (8km) away.
"I've never seen flames that high from anything. They were bright orange, with yellow on the side," she said.
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