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Durban fire 'is under control'
20/11/2007 08:44 - (SA)
Durban - Thick plumes of black smoke covered parts of Durban on Tuesday as a fire at the Engen refinery continued burning.
The plant's general manager Willem Oosthuizen said the blaze was being contained and would probably be allowed to burn out through Tuesday.
"Due to the damage to the petrol tank, our option is to let the tank burn out throughout the day," said Oosthuizen.
The massive fire started at the refinery on Tara Road on Monday night after lightning struck a petrol tank at about 19:00.
Firefighters were spraying the fire with foam and water and air samples were being taken for analysis.
There were no injuries or fatalities, all staff were accounted for and nobody had been evacuated from the area.
The refinery's own fire fighting staff were battling the blaze, with the Durban Fire Brigade on standby.
eThekwini metro police cordoned off roads to residential areas adjacent to the refinery and Engen tankers were moved out of the refinery as a safety precaution.
The orange glow of the blaze on Monday night could be seen from miles away. Despite the heavy rain, flames soared up 60 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 10 kilometres away.
In that blaze one person was burnt to death.
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