A massive fire broke out at the Engen refinery in Durban on Monday night, the cause of which was not immediately known. However, Engen refinery spokesperson Herb Payne said it was possibly caused by a lightning strike.
He said a gasoline storage tank was ablaze and firefighters were spraying it with foam and water. ”It is been contained but it is unlikely we will put it out soon because of the wind,” said Payne around 11pm.
The refinery was not under any immediate threat as the wind was fanning flames away from it.
Payne said there were no injuries or fatalities and that all staff had been accounted for. The refinery’s own firefighting staff were battling the blaze and the Durban Fire Brigade were on standby.
eThekwini metro police cordoned off roads to residential areas that were adjacent to the refinery. Engen tanker lorries were all ordered out of the refinery premises for safety reasons.
The orange glow of the blaze could be seen from kilometres away.
Thousands of Wentworth residents were standing on a nearby hillside watching firefighters battle the blaze coming from a large oil tank.
Despite heavy rain, flames soared up to 80m into the night sky, while huge plumes of dark black smoke billowed across the city.
Netcare 911 spokesperson Chris Botha said there had been no reports of injuries or nearby residents seeking medical attention for smoke inhalation.
This is the second blaze in the past three months involving storage tanks in Durban. On September 18 a number of tanks containing an assortment of chemicals went up in flames at the Island View Storage depot about 10km away. In that blaze one person was burnt to death. – Sapa