© Twitter/mimcheryla
Locals reported that their houses were "shaking" from the blast and their entire apartments "rumbled" from the incident that occurred in the early hours of Thursday. "Just had [a] big enough boom that [the] house shook & everything inside the house rattled," one person wrote on Twitter.
Photos and videos shared on social media showed large plumes of gray smoke billowing over the ExxonMobil plant located just some 25 miles (40 kilometers) east of Houston. The refinery, the second-largest petrochemical facility in the US, was seen engulfed by huge balls of fire illuminating the skies above the buildings.
At least four people were injured in the incident that saw the inferno raging over the plant, police said. Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez confirmed that all four people had been hospitalized, adding that three of them were rushed to a hospital by an air ambulance.
The sheriff also said that "some type of explosion" had occurred inside the plant, resulting in what the local authorities described as a "major industrial accident." Gonzalez said there was no reason for locals to evacuate, but urged people to avoid the area.
The refinery manager, Rohan Davis, said he could not confirm what exactly caused the blast, but that a "full and thorough investigation" will be carried out.
The fire was contained after several hours, with locals confirming it eventually "died down." The ExxonMobil facility houses a chemical plant, an olefins plant, and an oil refinery with a capacity amounting to 560,500 barrels per day, Reuters reported.
Comment: Depending on the extent of the damage, this incident could significantly reduce supplies, at a time when oil and energy prices are already soaring:
- US oil benchmark tops $80 per barrel for first time in 7 years
- European gas prices surge again to "astounding" new record highs, Germany's block on Nord Stream II gas pipeline continues
Other explosions and fires in the news recently:- Fire erupts during sewer repair in Finland, residents alerted over risk of toxic smoke (2nd December)
- CCTV shows Brooklyn apartment building explode after neighbor reported smelling gas leak, fire engulfs building injuring 6 (December 1st)
- 56 dead following explosion in Siberian coal mine, gas leak believed to be to blame (26th November)
- Explosion in Mexico destroys at least 30 buildings, leaves 1 dead, 15 injured - gas pipeline leak thought to be the cause (31st October)
- Huge gas explosion destroys house in Scotland, 3 injured, nearby residents evacuated (18th October)
- Explosion tears through 3 floors of apartment block in Georgia, US, 20 other buildings damaged (12th September)
- Massive fire breaks out on the roof of New York City hospital (10th September)
- Major factory fire in France forces residents to stay indoors amidst toxic smoke risk, small explosions reported (10th September)
- Explosions and large industrial fire in Kidderminster, England - nearby residents evacuated (8th September)
See also: SOTT Exclusive: The growing threat of underground fires and explosions