MOL chairman-CEO Zsolt Hernadi and Energy Minister Istvan Kapitany are en route, Magyar said.

In a post on Facebook, local news source Tiszaujvarosi Kronika said available information pointed to the explosion of a pyrolysis gasoline line at the MOL Petrolkemia plant. Disaster protection officials have said local residents are not at risk, it added.

David Dojcsak, the spokesman for the local disaster protection authority, told MTI that the fire at the plant was being extinguished and a mobile laboratory had been sent.

MOL told MTI that the explosion took place during a restart of the Olefin-1 plant. Firefighters have localised the fire, it added.

The oil and gas company confirmed that one person had died in the explosion and several were seriously injured. Experts are investigating the circumstances of the accident, it added.

Tiszaujvaros Mayor Gyorgy Fulop said in a video message on Facebook that there was no need, for the time being, to take steps to protect local residents. He added that firefighters from Tiszaujvaros and nearby Miskolc had been called to the site and were extinguishing the fire and cooling the facility with foam and water cannons.

People injured in the accident are being treated, the spokesman for the National Ambulance Service told MTI. Pal Gyorfi said three helicopters and a number of ambulances had arrived at the scene and were evacuating the injured.

In an update on Facebook, the prime minister said one person had died in the accident and seven had suffered serious burns. He added that measurements by the disaster protection authority's mobile laboratory showed levels of hazardous substances were not over thresholds.

Magyar expressed his condolences to the family of the person who died in the explosion and wished a speedy recovery to those who were injured.

Economy and Energy Minister Istvan Kapitany said in a post on Facebook that the final casualty count in the accident stood at one dead, one seriously injured and seven with minor burns. The person with serious injuries was evacuated by helicopter to a hospital in Debrecen, he added.

The explosion was reported at 8:47 in the morning, Kapitany said.

The fire at the base has been extinguished, the spokesman for the local disaster protection authority told MTI.

MTI Stock Photo
 

Source: MTI – Hungary’s national news agency since 1881. While MTI articles are usually factual, some may contain political bias, and readers should be aware that such content does not reflect the position of XpatLoop, which is neutral and independent.

Since the goal of XpatLoop is to keep readers well briefed, right across the spectrum of opinions, MTI items are shared to ensure readers are aware of all narratives within the local media.

XpatLoop believes in empowering readers to form their own views through complete and comprehensive coverage. To facilitate this XpatLoop has a balanced range of news partners, as you can see when you surf around XpatLoop.com

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