Series of explosions rocks Texas City refinery

[BrianGa]

http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/news/pri...explosion.html

Series of explosions rocks Texas City refinery

A series of explosions rocked the bp Amoco plant in Texas City.
ABC13 Eyewitness News
(3/30/04 - TEXAS CITY, TX) — A shelter in place was issued for residents in Texas City after a series of explosions rocked the area. That shelter-in-place has since been lifted.
According to eyewitnesses the blast at the BP Amoco chemical plant occurred around 6:30pm. Some witnesses say there were at least four explosions - the fourth being the loudest. But BP officials say there was only one.

According to B.C. Clawson with the Texas City Emergency Management, the fire occurred in the furnace area. After the explosion, hydrocarbon feed stock was burning off.

It doesn't appear the smoke is toxic, but authorities issued a shelter in place order. That order has since been lifted. However, State Highway 146 near the plant remains closed. City officials say the fire is now contained.

"We're about five miles away where the incident occurred and we were standing out on the porch and saw the explosion and saw a big burst of flames right off the bat," said eyewitness Steve Letterman.

All workers have been accounted for, and no injuries have been reported.

Homeland security officials say they were monitoring the situation in Texas City, but the FBI tells us agents responded to the scene and they're sure it was simply an industrial accident. Petrochemical plants in the Houston area have been identified as a possible al-Qaida target, but Tuesday night's incident was not terror related.
(Copyright © 2004, KTRK-TV)

[Weruj1]

4 Die In Massive Explosion At Texas City Refinery
More Than 80 People Injured

POSTED: 1:39 p.m. CST March 23, 2005
UPDATED: 5:44 p.m. CST March 23, 2005


Story by Click2Houston

TEXAS CITY, Texas -- A massive explosion and fire erupted at a Texas City refinery Wednesday afternoon, resulting in at least four deaths and dozens of injuries. It also destroyed buildings and vehicles, and sent a plume of thick, black smoke hundreds of feet into the air.



The blast happened at 1:20 p.m. at the BP Amoco petrochemical plant, located at 2401 5th Street. It occurred in a gasoline refinery area of the plant, officials told Local 2.

The explosion and fire left a lot of destruction and rubble at the plant, including a row of vehicles destroyed by flames, as well as buildings blown apart and leveled.



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SLIDESHOW: See Pictures Of Explosion
SLIDESHOW: Close-Up Pictures Of Blast Scene
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

In addition to the four deaths, at least 83 people were injured.

Twenty-three victims were taken to UTMB Hospital in Galveston, a Level 1 trauma center. Four people are listed in critical condition and ten victims are in serious condition. Nine others are listed in fair condition.

At least 60 injured were treated at Mainland Medical Center in Texas City.

Lifeflight helicopters helped transport some of the victims.

Hospital officials said the injuries range from burns, scrapes, scratches and contusions, to broken arms and broken legs.




All of the injuries involve workers at the refinery.

Search and rescue teams are still looking for victims under the debris. Company officials said their primary focus is to ensure that all employees are accounted for.

An information hot line was set up for families of employees at (409) 945-1400.

"It's been a sad day for the BP Texas City site and a really sad day for me, personally, as well. Our concern right now is for the families of those injured and families of those involved in the incident," said Don Parus, BP Amoco's Texas City site director. "At this time, it's unclear what happened. The fire was contained to the isomerization unit. This unit improves the octane of gasoline. It was contained to that single unit."


Residents Hear, Feel Blast
Residents told Local 2 that the explosion rattled homes and shattered windows.

"I was in my house on Tiki Island and it shook the house," said Mark Jackson. "I walked out my back door and saw the smoke."

Jackson lives about five miles from the blast location.



"I heard this big explosion. The whole building shook. Things were coming off the walls and we knew that something exploded. It's just been chaotic around here with everything," said Dianne Barnett, who works across the street from the refinery. "Our scaffolding fell."

"I was shaking and then I heard a boom and a window popped out. I was just at the door and I turned around and went and got my cousin out of the bed," said Keisha McFarland, a nearby resident.

"All of a sudden it just went, 'Boom.' It knocked my nephew to the ground, three blocks away," said Joey Terry, who felt the explosion.

A shelter-in-place order issued for nearby residents and schools in the Texas City Independent School District was lifted at about 2:15 p.m.

The BP Amoco plant is the largest in Texas City with 1,200 acres. The facility has 1,800 employees.

On March 30, several explosions rocked the same facility. Officials said that fire started in a furnace. The plant was evacuated, but no one was injured.




Copyright 2005 by Click2Houston.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

[RspctFrmCalgary]

Wow, almost a year to the day exactly!

Tragically there was loss of life this time

[cap611]

sadly, the death toll is up to 14 people as of 9:00pm wednesday nite, they called for several area ems crews, over 105 injured.