Venezuela was in mourning yesterday after a massive explosion tore through the country’s largest refinery, killing at least 39 people and injuring more than 80.
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez declared three days of national mourning on Saturday, saying the tragedy affected “the great Venezuelan family, civilian and military.”
Among the dead were 18 members of the National Guard — who were protecting the state-owned refining facility in the northwestern town of Amuay — and 15 civilians, Venezuelan Vice President Elias Jaua said.
Photo: EPA
The bodies of another six victims had yet to be identified.
Falcon State Governor Stella Lugo had earlier told official television that a 10-year-old child was among the victims.
Another 82 people were injured, Venezuelan Health Minister Eugenia Sader said.
Fifteen of the injured remain in hospital, Jaua said.
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.
Venezuelan 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.
The blast damaged 209 homes and 11 shops, while 13 families saw their homes completely destroyed and were temporarily moved to a naval base, according to preliminary figures.
Firefighters were able to bring the fire under control, though smoke was still billowing from the facility.
Jorge, a local police officer who lives just outside the refinery, said the scene after the blast was like an inferno.
“First, there was a shock as if the house was hit by a truck,” said the officer, who declined to reveal his last name. “When the shock wave passed, then came the flames, which were all around.”
While officials said there was no risk of another blast, Jaua said that response units would “continue fighting the flames all night.”
Before the blast, the Amuay refinery, one of the biggest in the world, was able to process about 645,000 barrels of crude oil a day.
Venezuelan media has often reported on complaints about safety and maintenance standards at the country’s refineries, which authorities have rarely confirmed.
The Latin American nation produces about 3 million barrels of oil per day, according to state figures, while OPEC has put the number at 2.3 million barrels per day.
OPEC certified last year that Venezuela has the largest oil reserves in the world at 296.5 billion barrels, surpassing Saudi Arabia, the country with the biggest refining capacity.
In March, Venezuelan authorities reported even higher reserves, of 297,570 billion.
Venezuelans are gearing up for Oct. 7 elections, in which Chavez — Latin America’s most influential and outspoken leftist leader for more than a decade — is seeking a third term.
Opposition candidate Henrique Capriles, the youthful former governor of Miranda State, has trailed Chavez in recent polls by about 15 percentage points.
If Chavez, who has declared himself “free” of cancer a year after his diagnosis, wins and serves out his full term, he could rack up 20 years in office.
SEEKING CHANGE: A hospital worker said she did not vote in previous elections, but ‘now I can see that maybe my vote can change the system and the country’ Voting closed yesterday across the Solomon Islands in the south Pacific nation’s first general election since the government switched diplomatic allegiance from Taiwan to Beijing and struck a secret security pact that has raised fears of the Chinese navy gaining a foothold in the region. The Solomon Islands’ closer relationship with China and a troubled domestic economy weighed on voters’ minds as they cast their ballots. As many as 420,000 registered voters had their say across 50 national seats. For the first time, the national vote also coincided with elections for eight of the 10 local governments. Esther Maeluma cast her vote in the
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
HYPOCRISY? The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday asked whether Biden was talking about China or the US when he used the word ‘xenophobic’ US President Joe Biden on Wednesday called for a hike in steel tariffs on China, accusing Beijing of cheating as he spoke at a campaign event in Pennsylvania. Biden accused China of xenophobia, too, in a speech to union members in Pittsburgh. “They’re not competing, they’re cheating. They’re cheating and we’ve seen the damage here in America,” Biden said. Chinese steel companies “don’t need to worry about making a profit because the Chinese government is subsidizing them so heavily,” he said. Biden said he had called for the US Trade Representative to triple the tariff rates for Chinese steel and aluminum if Beijing was