An explosion occurred at its state-owned refinery Taiwan CPC Dalin in the southern city of Kaohsiung on Thursday night, with footage and images released by the Fire Department showing thick smoke billowing over the plant, officials said.
Fire was seen raging above the factory and thick smoke billowing into the sky for more than an hour, according to a video posted on Youtube. Residents who live many kilometers away saw her explosion.
The fire broke out at 10.35 pm. local time (17:35 Greek time) in the Xiaogang sector. The city’s fire service stated that the fire was extinguished in the early hours of the morning today and how no one was injured or trapped according to the preliminary investigation.
CPC spokesman Ray Chang said there had been “very limited impact” on the company’s production as it has many other similar units at its facilities across the island.
“We are moving quickly to investigate the cause of the incident and make improvements”Chang said, adding that from the initial investigation points to a gas leak as the cause but more checks are needed.
Kaohsiung Mayor Che Chi Mai asked CPC to suspend all operations at the plant until an inspection was completed, adding that environmental and labor law authorities had imposed a total fine of 5.3 million New Taiwan dollars (US$165,098.75 ) in the company.
The explosion occurred in unit number 3, CPC’s Chang said. The unit, which has a production capacity of 40,000 barrels per day according to Refinitiv Eikon, removes sulfur from petroleum products.
The explosion occurred during routine maintenance work at the plant, city officials said.
Source: News Beast
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