New Mexico oil plant blast leaves several casualties
Fire (Illustrative photo: Getty Images)
A powerful explosion occurred at the largest oil refinery in New Mexico, US, sending a thick column of smoke over the city of Artesia. Several people were injured, according to AP.
On Friday, October 31, the HF Sinclair Navajo Refinery in Artesia, New Mexico, experienced a massive explosion. A dense cloud of smoke rose over the facility, covering part of the city before firefighters were able to fully extinguish the blaze.
According to Artesia Police Chief Pete Quiñones, there were no fatalities, but several people were injured. The exact number of casualties is still being determined.
Eddy Jennifer Armendaris, the county emergency manager, reported that a landing zone for a medical helicopter had been prepared to evacuate the injured.
By midday, the smoke had cleared, and traffic on roads near the refinery, which had been closed, was restored. HF Sinclair representatives have not yet provided official comments on the cause of the explosion.
The New Mexico Environment Department has sent a special team to Artesia to assess the impact of the incident and monitor air quality.
The HF Sinclair Navajo Refinery is the largest in New Mexico, with a designed capacity of up to 100,000 barrels of oil per day. The refinery processes oil from the Permian Basin - one of the most active oil regions in the world - and supplies fuel to the southwestern US.
HF Sinclair, headquartered in Dallas, Texas, also owns refineries in Kansas, Oklahoma, Wyoming, Washington state, and Utah.
For context, the Ryazan refinery in Russia halted its primary crude distillation unit after an attack by Ukrainian drones. It is the fourth-largest oil refinery in Russia.
