OIL STORAGE TANK BLAST IN TEXAS INJURES 7 CONTRACTORS

Seven contractors were injured, four critically, when a storage tank at a petroleum facility in Texas exploded after catching fire over the weekend, according to fire officials.

The fire began about 10 a.m. near a crude oil storage tank in Corpus Christi that was being cleaned and inspected, said Mark Calhoun, operations manager for Magellan Midstream Partners, the Associated Press (AP) reported.

“As far as the cause, we don’t really know just yet what happened, what caused the fire,” Calhoun said. “We will absolutely fully cooperate with the investigation ... and Magellan will also complete a thorough internal investigation as well.”

A shelter in place order that was issued after the blast was lifted shortly before noon, and there were no other injuries or property damage and no air contamination, according to deputy Fire Chief Richie Quintero. “Air monitoring was performed throughout this entire incident of which there was zero readings of concern on any types of gas or chemicals” at the site, Quintero said. The fire was extinguished and firefighters left the site shortly after 2 p.m.