A massive fire at an oil refinery in Iraqi Kurdistan's Erbil has injured at least 10 people, including firefighters who are actively battling the blaze, the civil defense agency reported on Thursday.
A massive fire at an oil refinery in Iraqi Kurdistan has injured at least 10 people, including firefighters who are actively battling the blaze, the civil defense agency reported on Thursday. The fire began in an asphalt tank on Wednesday night and quickly spread to a second refinery located on a road southwest of Erbil, the capital of the autonomous Kurdistan region.
🚨🇮🇶 Video footage showing massive fire at an oil refinery in Iraq. 8 injured firefighters are trying to put out the fire👎 pic.twitter.com/WbJQQqmZ44
— Todd Paron🇺🇸🇬🇷🎧👽 (@tparon)Firefighters worked through the night to extinguish the flames, which sent thick plumes of black smoke and bright orange flames into the sky, as captured by several photographs and videos on social media. The efforts to control the fire are ongoing as of Thursday.
[Update] : 16 hours have passed since the massive fire broke out in the oil refinery on the Road, and civil defense teams are still unable to control small parts of it, and the fire continues to spread. pic.twitter.com/3E8cKKM7uh
— Asgard Intel • WW3.INFO (@AsgardIntel)
"More than 10 people were injured, mainly men from the Erbil civil defence," the agency said in a statement, noting three fire trucks were burned.
The cause of the blaze remains unknown, according to officials.
: Oil refinery facilities in Erbil (# Region) have been on fire since yesterday.
Sources associated with the axis claim that Kurdish oil from this region will find its way to in the coming days. pic.twitter.com/ceJ2GJMN94
A huge fire has broken out at an oil refinery in Erbil, northern Iraq. The fire is thought to have started in the refinery's liquid asphalt warehouse. No casualties have been reported but a number of injuries have been reported.pic.twitter.com/f8tGwldgbO
— 🚨 Information Worldwide (@InfoEarthwide)"The fire started in one refinery before spreading to another," the statement said. Four fuel tanks have been affected.
Iraq, which experiences scorching summers, has faced multiple fires in recent weeks, impacting shopping centers, warehouses, and hospitals.
However, exports from the Kurdistan region have been halted for over a year due to a dispute over legal and technical issues.