Incident Report

Subject:                     Refinery Fire Probe Underway

Date of Email report:   Mon 17/10/2011

Report Detail:

Investigations are underway into the cause of a fire that broke out at the Engen refinery, South of Durban

The refinery's Herb Payne says their fire-fighters managed to put out the blaze 20 minutes after it started in the crude unit at 11am. Residents described seeing thick plumes of black smoke over the refinery, stretching over parts of the nearby Merebank community.  Workers that had been in the crude unit at the time the fire broke out were immediately evacuated. 

No-one was injured. Payne says they are looking into what may have sparked the blaze. "After ensuing that the fire was completely put out and the area was made safe, the all-clear was sounded at 2 o'clock this afternoon. The process now will begin - of investigating the cause of the fire. There was some smoke and unfortunately it did cause some discomfort to people, but there was no specific health risk," he said.  Meanwhile, this East Coasters - who lives close to the refinery - has described what he saw.  "We saw this fire, it wasn't just a fire, the smoke was blowing right over the Merebank area, and it was like a dark cloud - and there is a thick smell, a burning smell," he said.

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