OIL REFINERY BLAST KILLS 39 IN VENEZUELA
CARACAS, Aug 25, 2012 (AFP) - A massive explosion tore through Venezuela's largest refinery on Saturday, killing at least 39 people and injuring more than 80 in South America's biggest oil producing nation, officials said.
President Hugo Chavez declared three days of national mourning, because the tragedy “affects us all, the great Venezuelan family, civilian and military,” he said in a telephone call with members of his cabinet.
Among the dead were 18 members of the National Guard -- who were protecting the state-owned refining facility in the northwestern town of Amuay -- 15 civilians and six unidentified bodies, Vice President Elias Jaua said.
Falcon state Governor Stella Lugo had earlier told official television that one of the victims was a 10-year-old child.
Another 82 people were injured, Health Minister Eugenia Sader said.
Fifteen of the injured remain in hospital and are being evaluated, according to Jaua.
Chavez expressed his sympathy to the families of the dead, urging calm because “fortunately, the greatest danger has been controlled.”Ordering a “thorough investigation,” he vowed to help the people who have been displaced from their homes at the refinery complex, which also houses workers and their relatives, and in impoverished neighborhoods nearby.
Energy Minister Rafael Ramirez said the explosion was triggered by a gas leak at the refinery, which is owned by state oil firm Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA), the cause of which remained to be determined.
“The gas cloud exploded, igniting at least two storage tanks and other facilities at the refinery,” he told VTV television.
Ramirez, who is also president of PDVSA, said the refinery was shut down but operations would resume in two days.