Blaze hits Bang Chak refinery in Bangkok

BANGKOK, July 4 (TNA) - Fire erupted early Wednesday at a refinery of Bang Chak Petroleum Public Co., Ltd. in Phra Khanong district, police said. No casualties were reported in the blaze which lasted more than an hour while concerned officials are probing the cause of the accident. The blaze occurred at about 7.20 a.m. and, according to eyewitnesses, two explosions were heard before the fire and thick smoke was seen billowing the sky above the refinery plant which is located around Sukhumvit Road Soi 64. Refinery engineers and firemen who rushed to the scene were able to contain the fire slightly after 8.00 a.m. Some houses near the refinery were also damaged by the inferno. Concerned officials said initial investigation showed that a boiler may have leaked, causing the fire to erupt but had not spread to the oil depot. The incident did not affect oil reserves of the energy firm. Expressing her concerns over the accident, Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra assigned Energy Minister Arak Chonlatanon and Norkun Sitthiphong, permanent secretary of the Ministry, to closely monitor the situation and provide assistance to those affected. Industry Minister M.R. Pongvas Svasti, meanwhile, said he had ordered for the closure of the refinery plant for 30 days to allow officials to find the cause of the fire. Officials of the Natural Resources and Environment Ministry also rushed to the ill-fated plant to investigate whether the smoke and leaked oil would pose any hazard to respiratory system of people living in the area. (TNA)