MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – Two workers were killed and another was injured after a fire broke out over the weekend at the largest domestic refinery owned and operated by Mexican state oil company Pemex, a company official said on Monday.
The fire broke out on Saturday at the Salina Cruz refinery in the southern state of Oaxaca, plant manager Arturo Recio told reporters, explaining that a storm caused drains filled with oily waste to overflow onto the walkways in the complex.
A 21-year-old woman and a 26-year-old man who worked for Pemex contractors died and another man was hospitalized, Recio said.
He said work on the main distillation plant and a petrol plant had been halted to prevent further damage, but none of the other units were affected. Recio added that cleaning and repair work was underway.
The refinery’s processing capacity is 330,000 barrels per day and is currently operating at approximately 70% of capacity. The refinery operated normally after the fire, a Pemex source said.
Local media reported that the incident started in the refinery’s courtyards, near several large factories, and that the fire was extinguished by company personnel and civil defense.
