A tank containing a cleaning solvent caught fire and exploded at a Durban oil refinery on Tuesday night.
Managing director of the Engen refinery, Wayne Hartmann, said he had no idea what sparked the fire at 8.45pm, but said it was extinguished quickly by metro fire personnel who responded instantly to their call.
A spokesperson for Durban emergency services said several foam carriers, fire engines and support vehicles were sent to the refinery as well as air and weather pollution officers.
Hartmann said: ”There’s no reason for the community to be concerned.”
He said he had spent time assuring those who lived around the refinery that they were safe after a large group of Wentworth residents gathered outside the premises to watch the blaze.
The next step was to clean up the area around the explosion and investigate the cause of the fire which triggered it, Hartmann said.
The Durban South basin which includes the communities of Wentworth, Merewent and the Bluff is notorious for its high pollution levels due to several refineries in the area. – Sapa